Australian Open 2023: Aryna Sabalenka beats Elena Rybakina to win Melbourne title

Belarusian fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam singles title by fighting back to beat Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.

Sabalenka, who won under a neutral flag because of Belarus’ support of Russia’s war in Ukraine, hit 51 winners as her high-risk game paid off in Melbourne.

Kazakhstan’s Rybakina was unable to add a second Slam to her Wimbledon title.

Instead it was Sabalenka who put her name on the exclusive list of people to win a major title as she fulfilled her long-seen potential.

Sabalenka could not convert her first three championship points – producing an edgy double fault, pulling a forehand wide and knocking a backhand long – but also held her nerve in between by saving a break point with a hefty unreturned first serve.

At the fourth opportunity, she finally got over the line when 22nd seed Rybakina hit a forehand long.

Sabalenka, full of elation and emotion, instantly fell to the court and covered her face as she cried in celebration.

After returning to her feet and hugging Rybakina, she walked over to her team for a celebration which also left her coach Anton Dubrov sobbing.

Sabalenka shows strength of character

A contest between two of the biggest hitters on the WTA Tour – billed as ‘power struggle of epic stature’ by one Melbourne newspaper – was always expected to provide explosive tennis.

And the pair produced exactly that in a high-quality final which did not disappoint.

Sabalenka has described how she could not face watching last year’s Wimbledon after being prevented from playing as a result of the ban imposed on Russian and Belarusian players.

To take her mind off the tournament, she spent more time in the gym but the key to her success in Melbourne has been down to the mind as much as the body.

Sabalenka had won all six of the Grand Slam matches last year where she lost the first set and again showed the strength of character – this time in the most pressurised of situations – to recover on Rod Laver Arena.

Fighting back was not something Sabalenka had been…