Elena Rybakina to resume rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka in Australian Open final

They faced off in the last match of the 2025 season, and now they'll play again for the first Grand Slam trophy of 2026.

Elena Rybakina will resume her rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final after defeating Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6(7) on Saturday night at Melbourne Park. Sabalenka had previously defeated Elina Svitolina earlier in the evening, ensuring that the two would meet again for the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after Sabalenka defeated Rybakina in three sets in the title bout three years ago.

Read more: Aryna Sabalenka storms into fourth straight Australian Open final

Pegula and Rybakina came into the match having split six prior meetings, which included a three-set comeback by Rybakina in the semifinals of the year-end WTA Finals last year. But in their first meeting at a Grand Slam tournament, Rybakina was punishing and smothering early, and staved off a comeback by Pegula late, to take the win in one hour and 40 minutes.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion stormed out of the gates to the tune of a 3-0 lead, and did not face a break point until she was already ahead a set and a break at 6-3, 2-1. Four errors by Rybakina turned a 3-0 lead in that game to Pegula's first service break, but she quickly got back on top with a third break of the American's serve at 2-2.

It looked like Rybakina would wrap things up in just over an hour when she earned three match points on Pegula's serve at 6-3, 5-3. But she failed to convert any of them, setting the stage for a dramatic finale and an "epic" second set, in Rybakina's terms, that lasted more than an hour.

Pegula broke Rybakina when she served for the match twice, and came from 4-2 down in the tiebreaker to earn two set points for herself. She was denied on the first by a forehand winner from the Kazakh, and missed a first-ball forehand on the second, before Rybakina shut the door with an ace and a backhand winner, her 23rd and final winner of the contest.

Rybkaina and Sabalenka have met 14 times previously, with the world No. 1 holding an 8-6 lead in their overall head-to-head. But 10 of those meetings have come after their title-match meeting in Melbourne, and Sabalenka professes that the two are "different players" three years later.

"We went through different things. We're much stronger mental and physically, and we're playing better tennis now," Sabalenka said. "So I will approach this as completely different match, and we have long history after that final. So I'll approach this match as the very first one, and I will do my very best."