Women’s singles final in Melbourne, 8.30am GMT start
Rybakina poses threat | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail Katy
G’day everyone! After this tournament suddenly and belatedly exploded into life yesterday with two men’s semi-finals for the ages, today we could have another blockbuster as Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina face each other for the women’s title, in a repeat of the 2023 final.
Sabalenka came from a set down then to win her first grand slam, and has gone on to not only become a four-time major champion and undisputed world No 1 but accumulate serious numbers on hard courts that have surpassed even some of Serena’s stats. This is Sabalenka’s seventh consecutive major final on the surface – something matched only by Martina Hingis and Steffi Graf in the open era – and victory would secure her third Australian Open title in four years. She’s the female version of Jannik Sinner on hard courts – well, Sinner before he lost to Novak Djokovic.
