Aryna Sabalenka bids to regain her Australian Open crown as she faces Elena Rybakina in a big-hitting rematch of their dramatic final from three years ago.
The world No 1 was stunned by Madison Keys in last year’s final but is looking to win her third title in four years after reaching another final in Melbourne, having beaten Rybakina to win her first in 2023.
Both have been in dominant form this tournament, and Sabalenka and Rybakina are the first players to advance to a grand slam women’s final without dropping a set since Serena and Venus Williams in 2008.
Fifth seed Rybakina moved into her first grand slam final in three years by continuing her winning streak against top-10 players with wins against Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula.
Rybakina may have lost to Sabalenka three years ago, but the 2022 Wimbledon winner claimed a statement win over the world No 1 at the WTA Finals at the end of last season.
Sabalenka will be bidding for her fifth grand slam title overall after continuing her excellent consistency with a seventh hard-court grand slam final in a row.
Aryna Sabalenka v Elena Rybakina start time
The Australian Open women’s final will begin from after 8:30am GMT (UK time) on Saturday 31 January. It will follow the women’s and men’s doubles finals on Rod Laver Arena.
Australian Open order of play
Day 14 – Saturday 31 January
12:00 AM GMT
Aleksandra Krunić (SRB) / Anna Danilina vs. Elise Mertens (BEL) / Shuai Zhang (CHN) [4]
followed by
Not before: 3:30 AM GMT
Jason Kubler (AUS) / Marc Polmans (AUS) vs. Christian Harrison (USA) / Neal Skupski (GBR) [6]
Not before: 8:30 AM GMT
Aryna Sabalenka [1] vs. Elena Rybakina (KAZ) [5]
Is the Australian Open on TV?
The tournament will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK as well as online on Discovery+.
In the US, it will be shown live on ESPN and Tennis Channel.
Aryna Sabalenka v Elena Rybakina head-to-head
This will be the 15th career meeting between Sabalenka and Rybakina and it is Rybakina who leads the head-to-head 8-6. After Sabalenka won their first four meetings, Rybakina has won six of the last 10, including their most recent meeting at the WTA Finals in November.
What has Aryna Sabalenka said about Elena Rybakina?
“I think her shots are heavy, deep, flat balls. It’s not easy to work. We have a great history. She’s incredible player. We had a lot of great battles, a lot of finals we played. I’m looking forward to battling this power
“Me and her, we both are different players [from 2023]. We went through different things. We’re much stronger mental and physically, and we’re playing better tennis now.
“So I will approach this as completely different match, and we have long history after that final. So I’ll approach this match as the very first one, and I will do my very best.”
What has Elena Rybakina said about Aryna Sabalenka?
“Last match we played here, it was very close. Throughout the match I had some little opportunities, but in the end of the third set, I think Aryna stepped in. She served much better. She deserved that win.
“Many years passed, a lot of matches have been played. Hopefully with all the experience which I got from this last match, the last final I played here, I can bring it to Saturday match and do my best, focus on my serve.
“Since we are both very aggressive players, serve is important. Fight till the end, and hopefully this time it’s gonna go my way.”
