Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka will take on each other in the women's final of the 2023 Australian Open on January 28.
Follow Us
Elena Rybakina defeated former world number one Victoria Azarenka 7-6, 6-3 to advance to her second major final in seven months. She faced three straight breakpoints at 5-5 before taking the lead after an hour in the tumultuous opening set. She trailed by a break, served for the set and held a set point. During the match, she hit nine aces, increasing her tournament-leading total of 44. Since Jennifer Capriati won the tournament in 2001 by defeating Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Monica Seles, she is the first woman to have defeated three former Grand Slam champions at the Australian Open. The world no. 1 Iga Swiatek, the defending champion Danielle Collins, and Jelena Ostapenko, a former champion of Roland-Garros, were all defeated by her in the third, fourth, and quarterfinal rounds, respectively. She has only faced one breakpoint in the past two weeks and defeated Danielle Collins with a score of 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.
On her fourth try, Aryna Sabalenka successfully reached a Grand Slam final. The fifth seed completely dominated unseeded Grand Slam second-week debutante Magda Linette in the remaining match to win 7-6, 6-2. She also trailed the opening set of her semifinal by an early break and was forced to a tiebreak. She had previously lost all three of her matches in major semifinals, most recently to Iga Swiatek at the US Open last year. Additionally, the Belarusian had never advanced past the round of 16 in either of the previous two Australian Opens, and had never even reached the quarterfinals before this past week.
| Rybakina vs Sabalenka | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | January 28, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard courts |
| Tournament | Australian Open |
| Stage | Final |
| Time (India) | 2:00 P.M. |
| Time (Australia) | 7:30 P.M. |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Victoria Azarenka | 7-6, 6-3 (W) |
| Jelena Ostapenko | 6-2, 6-4 (W) |
| Iga Swiatek | 6-4, 6-4 (W) |
| Danielle Collins | 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 (W) |
| Kaja Juvan | 6-2, 6-1 (W) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Magda Linette | 7-6, 6-2 (W) |
| Donna Vekic | 6-3, 6-2 (W) |
| Belinda Bencic | 7-5, 6-2 (W) |
| Elise Mertens | 6-2, 6-3 (W) |
| Shelby Rogers | 6-3, 6-1 (W) |
3-0 is Aryna Sabalenka’s advantage. The Belarusian would win the opening set, drop the second set, and win the match by dropping no more than three games in the decider. The last time they met was in the 2021 Wimbledon fourth round, where Elena Rybakina won the title the previous year.
| Tournament | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Wimbledon | Aryna Sabalenka | 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 |
| 2021 Abu Dhabi Open | Aryna Sabalenka | 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 |
| 2019 Wuhan Open | Aryna Sabalenka | 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 |
Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka will take on each other in the women’s final of the 2023 Australian Open on January 28.
Australia – Nine and Stan Sport
Canada – TSN and RDS
India – Sony Sports Network
UK – Eurosport
USA – ESPN Network
The matches of both men’s and women’s can be live-streamed on demand on the Tennis TV app and website.
