The Australian Open will have an unprecedented champion. The Russian Aryna Sabalenka, number 5 in the WTA ranking, and the Kazakh Elena Rybakina, ranked 25th in the ranking, will define the contest and the winner will be crowned for the first time at Melbourne Park.
Sabalenka, 24, got her ticket to the decisive match by beating the Polish Magda Linette (45) 7-6 (1) and 6-2. In this way, she left the surprise of the contest on the way and got into the definition of the first Grand Slam of the season. The Russian will seek her 12th title on the professional circuit, the first in a Major.
His rival in search of the first big title will be Rybakina, born in Moscow but representing Kazakhstan. The 23-year-old tennis player secured her place in the final by beating veteran Belarusian Victoria Azarenka (24) 7-6 (7-4) and 6-3, thus seeing her dream of repeating the titles she won in 2012 cut short. and 2013, when he was number one in the world.
Rybakina, who was the Wimbledon champion last year, had already been eliminating Grand Slam champions: in addition to beating Azarenka in the semifinals, in the previous rounds she had beaten the Polish Iga Swiatek (world number one) and the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (17). At Melbourne Park she will try to take her second Grand Slam trophy after the one she achieved in 2022 when she defeated Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the All England Wimbledon.