Elena Rybakina emulates Maria Sharapova in historic Australian Open triumph over Aryna Sabalenka

Elena Rybakina emulated Maria Sharapova in a historic three-set win over Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open women's singles final.

The Kazakhstani fifth seed overcame a second-set blip against the world number one to triumph 6-4 4-6 6-4 at the Rod Laver Arena and claim her second Grand Slam title after Wimbledon 2022.

Rybakina's tremendous three-set success - which she sealed in just under two and a half hours - came after her statement quarter-final and semi-final wins over Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula respectively, making her the first player to win the AO women's singles title after defeating three of the top six in the world since Sharapova in 2008.

Furthermore, of all female players to have faced the reigning world number one at least 10 times in the Open Era, Rybakina now holds the best win rate of 60%, surpassing Serena Williams's 58.6%.

The 26-year-old also avenged her 2023 Australian Open final loss to Sabalenka and has now won each of her last five top-level finals, including last year's WTA Finals showpiece against the Belarusian.

Meanwhile, Sabalenka has now been defeated in three of her last four major finals and has suffered back-to-back heartbreaks at the Rod Laver Arena, 12 months on from her crushing loss to Madison Keys in the 2025 Australian Open.

Australian Open: How Elena Rybakina ended hard-court curse vs. Aryna Sabalenka

ELENA RYBAKINA IS AN AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPION ?

The No.5 seed defeats Aryna Sabalenka in an enthralling three-set encounter in Melbourne ? @wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/iWAAHFZFHR

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 31, 2026

The hard-court hoodoo had bedevilled Rybakina prior to 2026, as she had only ever been past the fourth round of one Australian or US Open before the recently-concluded tournament - her final loss to Sabalenka three years ago.

However, the fifth seed's magnificent WTA finals triumph late last year set the tone for a magical Melbourne campaign, and following some well-documented health issues over the years, she finally put it all together under the roof.

Sabalenka failed to recover in the first set after being broken in the very first game, squandering two break points in the eighth game before Rybakina converted her first set point.

The champion's level dipped soon after the restart, though, as despite beating away three break points in the second game of the second set, she was comprehensively broken to love in the 10th game.

Sabalenka maintained her momentum by storming into a 3-0 lead in the decider, but the big-serving Kazakh soon rediscovered her groove, finding the corners of the court with aplomb to win five games on the spin.

A sixth ace of the day sealed a momentous victory for Rybakina, who saved six of the eight break points she faced and was customarily composed when the game, set and match rang out.