Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina emulate Williams sisters as blockbuster final locked in

Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina emulated the Williams sisters as the pair defeated Elina Svitolina and Jessica Pegula respectively to reach the women's singles final at the 2026 Australian Open.

Sabalenka reached her fourth consecutive showpiece match in Melbourne with a 6-2 6-3 success over Ukraine's Svitolina, before Rybakina battled past some match-point nerves to sink Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-6[7] in the second semi-final.

Neither Sabalenka nor Rybakina had lost a set in the tournament before Thursday's matches, and having both come through their semis in two, the 2026 AO final will be the first Grand Slam women's singles championship match between two players who have not dropped a set since Wimbledon 2008 between Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

Seeking her third Australian Open singles win in four seasons, Sabalenka's raw power proved too hot for Svitolina to overcome, as the Belarusian reeled off 29 winners compared to just 12 for her 31-year-old opponent.

The current world number one is also just the third women's player to reach four straight AO finals in the Open Era after Martina Hingis and Evonne Goolagong, and standing in her way of a fifth major title will be regular foe Rybakina.

The 2022 Wimbledon winner recovered from missing three match points to get the better of Pegula in a topsy-turvy second set, thereby reaching her first major final since Melbourne 2023.

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Elena Rybakina head-to-head assessed before Australian Open final

Rybakina's first and only previous Grand Slam showpiece match on hard court came against none other than Sabalenka, who lost the first set to the Kazakh before prevailing in three to win her first major honour.

That 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory for the world number one represents one of her eight top-level victories against Rybakina, who marginally trails the head-to-head with six wins of her own from their 14 matches.

The two finalists will reunite shortly after doing battle in the final of the 2025 WTA Finals, when Rybakina took down Sabalenka 6-3 7-6[0] to take home the title and an astronomical £3.8m paycheck for an undefeated tournament.

That contest marked Sabalenka and Rybakina's fourth meeting of the 2025 season, when both players claimed two victories apiece; the Belarusian prevailed in Wuhan and Berlin, while Rybakina also triumphed in Cincinnati.

On hard courts specifically, Rybakina boasts six victories compared to five for Sabalenka, but the latter has won just two of their last eight clashes on the surface.