Source olympics
MELBOURNE – The 2026 Australian Open women’s singles final is set, and it promises to be a titanic clash between two of the game’s biggest hitters. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will face off against the formidable Elena Rybakina on Saturday at Rod Laver Arena in a highly anticipated rematch of their 2023 final.
Both players have reached the championship match in devastating form, neither having dropped a set throughout the tournament—a feat not seen in a Grand Slam women’s final since the Williams sisters met at Wimbledon in 2008.
The Path to the Final
Sabalenka, the defending champion from 2024 and 2025, extended her dominance in Melbourne by dismissing 12th seed Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals. The Belarusian is now the first woman since Martina Hingis to reach four consecutive Australian Open finals, chasing her third title in four years.
Rybakina, meanwhile, survived a late surge from American Jessica Pegula to win 6-3, 7-6(7). After failing to convert three match points while serving for the match, the Kazakh star showed iron nerves to save two set points in a tense second-set tiebreak.
Head-to-Head: A Rivalry of Power
This will be the 15th meeting between the two stars, with Sabalenka holding a slight edge in their overall history.
Statistic Aryna Sabalenka Elena Rybakina
Overall H2H 8 Wins 6 Wins
Hard Court H2H 5 Wins 6 Wins
Last Meeting 2025 WTA Finals (L) 2025 WTA Finals (W)
AO 2023 Final Winner (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) Runner-up
While Sabalenka leads the total count, Rybakina has been the more successful in their recent encounters on hard courts, including a dominant straight-sets victory in the final of the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh.
“It was such a battle in 2023,” Rybakina said of their previous Melbourne final. “I’m just super happy to be back. I hope to serve better than I did today and just enjoy the fight.”
How to Watch Live
Tennis fans across the globe can tune in to see if Sabalenka can secure her Melbourne hat-trick or if Rybakina will claim her second Grand Slam title.
Australia: Channel 9, 9Now (Free), and Stan Sport.
USA: ESPN, ESPN2, and the Tennis Channel.
UK & Europe: Eurosport and Discovery+.
India: Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV.
Canada: TSN and RDS.
The final is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during the night session at Rod Laver Arena.
