Aryna Sabalenka WINS the Australian Open to become the first NEUTRAL champion in tennis after bouncing back from defeat to defeat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-6 in a thrilling final at Melbourne Park 4 to beat
- Aryna Sabalenka beat Elena Rybakina 4:6, 6:3, 6:4 and won the Australian Open
- The Aussie Open is the first Grand Slam title of her career for the world No. 5
- Wimbledon champion Rybakina was looking for her second major title
The tennis world’s policy of allowing players from banned nations to compete produced its first neutral champion at the Australian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus may not have a flag next to her name but now she has a first Grand Slam trophy presented to her by Billie Jean King.
The image will not please everyone given the current global turmoil, but it should be said that their triumph was well deserved after an excellent final through the prism of tennis alone.
Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open after beating Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4
She defeated Moscow-born Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two and a half hours, and after suffering from nervousness at the big event throughout her career, she held on to her to win with a fourth match point.
It was serve that carried her home, somewhat poignant for a player who endured bouts of yips on her second serve. She served 56 of them when she reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park last year.
In truth, this was not a match to capture the imagination or give women’s football a much-needed boost. But the quality of tennis raised it above any perceived indifference.
Empty seats in the stadium showed this was not an easy sale and tickets cost less than a third of what was being charged for the men’s final, not that £150 was an insignificant sum for the women.
The Belarusian was overcome with emotion after winning the first Grand Slam title of her career in a thrilling final at Melbourne Park
Sabalenka and Rybakina received their trophies from tennis legend Billie Jean King
The Belarusian paid tribute to her team in her acceptance speech at Rod Laver Arena
Since the invasion of Ukraine, which her government in Belarus supported, Sabalenka has remained neutral and asked what she, as an athlete with relatives living in Belarus, should do about it.
There was no awkwardness or embarrassment at the presentation of the trophy, engraved with her name but not that of her country.
Reluctant to comment, she said: “I think everyone knows I’m a Belarusian player and that’s it. I think the people (over there) will be proud of me.’
As for tennis, she was emotional immediately after the game, having finally displayed the physical talent that always indicated a major was within reach.
Rybakina won the first set 6-4 and appeared on course to claim a second Grand Slam title after triumphing at Wimbledon in July last year
But the Kazakh had no answers for Sabalenka as the world No. 5 roared back into contention
The Belarusian landed 80 percent of her first serve, putting pressure on Rybakina
“It was really the best match I’ve ever played. I was just happy that I was able to handle all the emotions in the last game,” she said after watching her first try for the match point end in a double fault.
Both players hit the ball with enormous force.
In Sabalenka’s case, she’s able to appeal to a trim physique, while Rybakina’s slimmer physique relies more on sharp timing, as she demonstrated at Wimbledon.
Sabalenka’s dreaded double faults struck in the first set as she delivered five of them, but her second serve improved after that and the points she managed to win turned the match.
She was able to fight her way back into the match, and it was clear from afar that if she kept her nerve, she would win the match.