2026 Australian Open Final: Sabalenka (1) v. Rybakina (5)

[Aussie Darcy]

I thought Sabalenka would win but am glad Elena won. What was wrong with Elena's Wimbledon win?

Wimbledon 2022 banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes and thus the tournament was punished by no ranking points being awarded so Elena got no ranking points for her title. It was murky and annoying.

In saying that, as annoying as it was for her, it was annoying for Sabalenka who wasn’t even allowed to compete.

 

[Bartelby]

The West is now under Trumpian control, so I hope you are happy.

Wimbledon 2022 banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes and thus the tournament was punished by no ranking points being awarded so Elena got no ranking points for her title. It was murky and annoying. As annoying as it was for her, it was annoying for Sabalenka who wasn’t even allowed to compete.

 

[Automatix]

Very happy for Elena. From my perspective her attitude is very likable.

 

[Martin J]

She deserves this feeling after that less than ideal Wimbledon win.

I wanted to say that I am happy to see her like this.

 

[Bartelby]

What is so amusing is that the West is not forced to say that a Russian won.

 

[Fed881981]

Rybakina doesn't look too happy of winning AO. She is kind of detached.

She’s just Rybakina.

And that is enough for her to win two slams!

 

[thrust]

Wimbledon 2022 banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes and thus the tournament was punished by no ranking points being awarded so Elena got no ranking points for her title. It was murky and annoying.

In saying that, as annoying as it was for her, it was annoying for Sabalenka who wasn’t even allowed to compete.

The no ranking points at that Wimbledon was the most ridiculous decision ever, IMO. I forgot they banned the Russian and Belarusian players. Still, a very good win for Elena.

 

[Enceladus]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017570295633350818

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017559620878012475

@Hitman, @Aussie Darcy

 

[NoleFam]

Comgtay to Rybakina. What a great last few months she's had.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017570295633350818

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017559620878012475

@Hitman, @Aussie Darcy

Epic stuff.

 

[Hitman]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017570295633350818

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017559620878012475

@Hitman, @Aussie Darcy

That's my girl, so happy for her, the second slam was long overdue, so well deserved also.

 

[Winners or Errors]

Rybakina: the best player in the world when on her game. Glad she put it all together this tournament. Wish she'd do it more often. Who knows? Maybe she will.

 

[PDJ]

I didn't watch the match as I'm not a Sabalenka fan. The noise plus her neediness make, for me, uncomfortable viewing.

However, I've watched the highlights above and was struck, as always, how Rybakina just gets on with it with minimum fuss and histrionics. Such a contrast to the more vocal players.

As an aside, Sabalenka's dress looked really uncomfortable on her.

Congratulations Rybakina.

 

[Bartelby]

Rybakina: the best player in the world when on her game. Glad she put it all together this tournament. Wish she'd do it more often. Who knows? Maybe she will.

 

[GhostDog]

This is the consistent form I had expected to see from Rybakina win after her Wimby title 3 years ago. I thought she would have had multiple slams by now. When she's on, she looks unbeatable. Best serve in the game & forehand.

Maybe 2026 is the year she puts it all together. Another Wimby title & her 1st US Open.

 

[Automatix]

Now if only "Pumba" could win tomorrow it would totally make my weekend.

 

[Bartelby]

epic fail.

Epic stuff.

 

[Subway Tennis]

Rybakina's DTLBH looks so safe. Always feels like she is just calmly wheeling a trolley down the line over and over. No wonder she is so good at doing it in big moments against the biggest players.

I've critiqued Sabalenka a lot on here but compare the way she handled this loss with last years AO and RG. She is a year older and substantially more mature and that really showed tonight.

 

[Fed881981]

Sabalenka is the most consistent player on the tour— goes very deep in every major tournament. A deserving number 1 given the current field. Gauff is not nearly as consistent and Swiatek can always lose.

That said, Sabalenka is not a dominant World Number 1. She is not a player that you expect to win three slams a year, for example. She’s not Serena, Graff, Federer or Djokovic. Nor she is going to be, and that’s okay.

 

[bezs]

Very happy for Elena.

So clutch 3-love down in the final set and rattles off 5 games in a row and goes on to keep her nerve to serve it out.

What's cooler than being cool? Ice Cold!!!

 

[roysid]

The moment that changed everything

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017556440274079911

 

[Aussie Darcy]

The moment that changed everything

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017556440274079911

Yep nothing like the fear a domestic abuser puts in you when you’re losing! Not my accounts reporting that. Pam Shriver, Donna Vekic, the WTA and more.

People can keep putting their head in the sand but. Truly no fear like when a man scolds you, the same man who through his actions had Rybakina withdraw from many tournaments due to overworking her and screaming insults at her.

If you’re mad at me posting about it, imagine being a Rybakina fan during that period when she was withdrawing left, right and centre. It was brutal and awful, her own family and inner circle were scared and worried for her.

 

[roysid]

Yep nothing like the fear a domestic abuser puts in you when you’re losing! Not my accounts reporting that. Pam Shriver, Donna Vekic, the WTA and more.

People can keep putting their head in the sand but. Truly no fear like when a man scolds you, the same man who through his actions had Rybakina withdraw from many tournaments due to overworking her and screaming insults at her.

If you’re mad at me posting about it, imagine being a Rybakina fan during that period when she was withdrawing left, right and centre. It was brutal and awful, her own family and inner circle were scared and worried for her.

You believe that rybakina was abused, scared and what not by vukov. You came to know about this from Western media and believed it. And so do others including me that time.

The truth is not that what few wta girls overheard words and then Pam got influenced by it. Pam herself is victim so no surprise she got personally affected.

I am more inclined that wta interfered on hearsay without player herself complaining and player is established and adult.

And the player herself denied . I would belive horse's mouth then Donna vekic and Pam's interpretation. As for family, I don't know details. She must have her reasons. But yes, biggest abusers have been from family itself in tennis history. Shall we generalize then.

If it was victim and abuser, then after getting banned victim would have spoken up. Everyone does or escapes from abuser. Shall I put her videos where she said vukov never mistreated her. Or her interview on her response how her results improved 6 months ago after vukov joined her.

As for her withdrawing from tournaments, how does that matter. Those are for various reasons viz. Bronchitis, trauma of wta investigation etc. And anyway if tournaments are so important, she won wta finals and now AO twe biggest two.

While many are victim, not everyone is a victim. You may have some deep personal connection to this topic I understand.
so in your eyes vukov will always be abuser, come what may.

 

[PDJ]

Sabalenka is the most consistent player on the tour— goes very deep in every major tournament. A deserving number 1 given the current field. Gauff is not nearly as consistent and Swiatek can always lose.

That said, Sabalenka is not a dominant World Number 1. She is not a player that you expect to win three slams a year, for example. She’s not Serena, Graff, Federer or Djokovic. Nor she is going to be, and that’s okay.

This article from the BBC has comments that would agree with you.

 

[tennis24x7]

She was withdrawing from tournaments left, right and centre when he was her coach, don’t forget that. Each tournament featured every excuse under the sun.

Maybe it was something else that was causing it. The results speak for themselves.

 

[tennis24x7]

You get too personal everytime this topic comes. 'dumb' isn't nice. As for tournament withdrawals , she opted out of Korea mysteriously. For others, I am not sure.

You don't have any power or influence over Rybakina. WTA had and did something.
What happened?
Rybakina defended vukov and brought him back. Wta ceo was snubbed too.
We forget one thing. The girl is adult. She has made her choice. For once , respect her choice. Her consent is also important right.

And then results. She is playing in top form. She won WTA finals. She is in AO finals. No longer the mental torment she is going through.

As much hard it is too accept for you, she is doing good herself.

It's not like Jelena Dokic, Mirjana case where the girl escaped desperately.

Exactly no person who is having that much of mental torment, can continue to play huge and then go and win two big tournaments, especially against the top players of the world. This is not like Elena beat Raducanu or Leylah. We have all seen what it did to countless players Jokic, Tomic.

 

[tennis24x7]

AND SHE'S AS STOIC AS WHEN SHE WON WIMBLEDON!

I was expecting more of a reaction, tuned in just to watch that and nothing, it is like she won the first round match in a WTA 500. Looks like she is not capable of showing her emotions in public.

 

[tennis24x7]

Since when does the coach get a trophy?

Is this the WTA kind of saying we did something dumb listening to a third party and banned you?

 

[veelium]

Is this the WTA kind of saying we did something dumb listening to a third party and banned you?

Someone said they did this last year as well, so no.

 

[NoleFam]

I'm watching the replay now because I couldn't wake up to watch at 2:30 am (was still tired from waking up to watch the men's SFs), and I'm at the end of the 2nd set. It's not as exciting as last year's finals so far but Rybakina has really been taking it to Sabalenka. Not many players can push back like that.

 

[anarosevoli]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017570295633350818

4th (not first)
Australian Open (not slam)
and - worst of all - "forgetting" the fact that number 1 and number 2 have no chance to do this

Not much left of this "record" lol.

 

[Mainad]

2nd Slam singles title for Rybakina (following her 2022 Wimbledon title) and 1st on hardcourt. She becomes:

1. One of 8 active players to win multiple Slam singles titles.
2. One of 81 women to win multiple Slam singles titles in the history of tennis.
3. The 1st player from Kazakhstan to win the Australian Open.
4. The 2nd Russian-born woman to win the Australian Open (after Sharapova).

She also avenges her defeat to Sabalenka in the 2023 final by coming back from a set down to beat her just as Sabalenka had done on that occasion.

Sabalenka becomes runner-up in the Australian Open final for the 2nd year in a row (lost last year to Madison Keys) after winning back to back titles 2023-4.

 

[tudwell]

Just finished the replay. Rybakina painting some lines in that last game. What a way to win.

Sabalenka has such Andy Murray energy on court. Just constant negativity. Gets tiresome.

 

[Ray Mercer]

Nothing better than winning a big title with an ace. Awesome finish

 

[Sudacafan]

Just voted in the poll. This will improve my accuracy index.

 

[NoleFam]

So I finished watching the match and Sabalenka let another one slip through her fingers. She was 3-0 in the final set and ended up losing it. It's kind of becoming a pattern with her in close matches now and her mentality wavers depending on the day. With that said, Rybakina played great and deserved it. I'm glad to see her on this resurgence and win her 2nd Slam. The women's game has more top players challenging and winning Slams than the men's game. Are we back to the 90s and early 2000s? Lol.

 

[Sudacafan]

So I finished watching the match and Sabalenka let another one slip through her fingers. She was 3-0 in the final set and ended up losing it. It's kind of becoming a pattern with her in close matches now and her mentally wavers depending on the day. With that said, Rybakina played great and deserved it. I'm glad to see her on this resurgence and win her 2nd Slam. The women's game has more top players challenging and winning Slams than the men's game. Are we back to the 90s and early 2000s? Lol.

Not sure about this take with Sabs.
She has like 20 consecutive tiebreakers won, so her shortcomings do not necessarily depend on the closeness of the match.
I think it’s certain matchups. Rybakina has become a tough opponent for her.
Regardless, she is the #1 in ranking points still by far, so she’s got some consistency, or it’s just that the other players are worse.
Rybakina herself has the weapons to reach #1 if she stays consistent, which always has been a big question with her.

 

[NoleFam]

Not sure about this take with Sabs.
She has like 20 consecutive tiebreakers won, so her shortcomings do not necessarily depend on the closeness of the match.
I think it’s certain matchups. Rybakina has become a tough opponent for her.
Regardless, she is the #1 in ranking points still by far, so she’s got some consistency, or it’s just that the other players are worse.
Rybakina herself has the weapons to reach #1 if she stays consistent, which always has been a big question with her.

But according to @Pheasant, she is 2-5 vs top-10 opponents in the 3rd set of a slam match and 1-3 on hard courts. Not to mention her close losses in the RG final and the SF of Wimbledon last year. I didn't mean that as a diss to the women's game and meant it as a compliment. You have Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff and now Rybakina as top players and who are all multi Slam winners. That's great for the women's game.

 

[Dominic & Andrey]

Out of curiosity why does Rybakina’s second slam mean more to you than her first at Wimbledon 2022? Like that one felt bigger than this?

I wasn't as big of a fan when she won Wimbledon. I liked her but I had not seen her play that much before. Here this title comes as a relief after painful several losses in slams where she was looking like she was about to win.

 

[Moose Malloy]

Not sure about this take with Sabs.
She has like 20 consecutive tiebreakers won, so her shortcomings do not necessarily depend on the closeness of the match.
I think it’s certain matchups. Rybakina has become a tough opponent for her.
Regardless, she is the #1 in ranking points still by far, so she’s got some consistency, or it’s just that the other players are worse.
Rybakina herself has the weapons to reach #1 if she stays consistent, which always has been a big question with her.

Confused why I heard commentators talk about her TB streak still going at AO, she lost a TB at the the end of last year to Pegula(there were threads on her streak ending)

 

[NYTennisfan]

I missed the match but super happy for Rybakina. She's worked hard to get back to this level after some injury/inconsistencies issues and has always had the game to win Slams so....good for her.

 

[Pheasant]

I figured a few years ago that Rybakina would have 5 slams by now. She’s that talented. Hopefully, she can springboard off of this to become an ATG player.


She’s now won 10 straight vs top-10 players. That’s a remarkable streak.

 

[Sudacafan]

Confused why I heard commentators talk about her TB streak still going at AO, she lost a TB at the the end of last year to Pegula(there were threads on her streak ending)

Thanks for the clarification.
Now I can’t not only trust AI, there’s ESPN commentators as well.

 

[Bartelby]

Rybakina took advantage of the official cheating system that tennis invented.

The moment that changed everything

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017556440274079911

 

[Bartelby]

And yet he was there, literally, in her corner. A Svengali, as Elaine would say.

Yep nothing like the fear a domestic abuser puts in you when you’re losing! Not my accounts reporting that. Pam Shriver, Donna Vekic, the WTA and more.

People can keep putting their head in the sand but. Truly no fear like when a man scolds you, the same man who through his actions had Rybakina withdraw from many tournaments due to overworking her and screaming insults at her.

If you’re mad at me posting about it, imagine being a Rybakina fan during that period when she was withdrawing left, right and centre. It was brutal and awful, her own family and inner circle were scared and worried for her.

 

[Bartelby]

Failed tennis players are always in need of a meal ticket: just ask Hitchcock!

You believe that rybakina was abused, scared and what not by vukov. You came to know about this from Western media and believed it. And so do others including me that time.

The truth is not that what few wta girls overheard words and then Pam got influenced by it. Pam herself is victim so no surprise she got personally affected.

I am more inclined that wta interfered on hearsay without player herself complaining and player is established and adult.

And the player herself denied . I would belive horse's mouth then Donna vekic and Pam's interpretation. As for family, I don't know details. She must have her reasons. But yes, biggest abusers have been from family itself in tennis history. Shall we generalize then.

If it was victim and abuser, then after getting banned victim would have spoken up. Everyone does or escapes from abuser. Shall I put her videos where she said vukov never mistreated her. Or her interview on her response how her results improved 6 months ago after vukov joined her.

As for her withdrawing from tournaments, how does that matter. Those are for various reasons viz. Bronchitis, trauma of wta investigation etc. And anyway if tournaments are so important, she won wta finals and now AO twe biggest two.

While many are victim, not everyone is a victim. You may have some deep personal connection to this topic I understand.
so in your eyes vukov will always be abuser, come what may.

 

[KevinThiem]

I have not been this happy for a player winning a slam since Thiem in 2020 or maybe Alcaraz winning his first Wimbledon. I am on cloud nine. I am delighted.

Me too except for the Alcaraz part. But one point -- Vukov said "picking potatoes," not "selling" them.

 

[Bartelby]

The BBC spews nothing but hatred these days. It's days of impartial journalism are long over.

his article from the BBC has comments that would agree with you.

 

[roysid]

Me too except for the Alcaraz part. But one point -- Vukov said "picking potatoes," not "selling" them.

I know he allegedly said 'picking potatoes '. Since I was joking all the time about it, 'selling potatoes ' would be more fun.
It certainly throws a shiver around my spine. Such terrifying words

 

[KevinThiem]

Out of curiosity why does Rybakina’s second slam mean more to you than her first at Wimbledon 2022? Like that one felt bigger than this?

You aren't asking me, but the first one seemed to be easy for her. This one came after the 2023 loss to Sabalenka and that torturous (to her fans) loss in the tie break to Anna Blinkova.