Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: Stage set for Australian Open 2026 women’s final as Sabalenka eyes third Melbourne title, Rybakina seeks revenge; check their head to head and Grand Slam record

Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: The stage is setting for the Australian Open 2026 women’s singles final. World number one Aryna Sabalenka will face Elena Rybakina on Saturday in what promises to be a tough final for the Melbourne title. The match pits two players who are in furious form and have yet to drop a set in Melbourne in the last two weeks.

With Saturday’s victory, Sabalenka will try to improve her Australian Open record, while Rybakina will aim to avenge her defeat in the 2023 final.

The duo, who have faced each other 14 times before, are well aware of each other’s abilities on the field and this is a rematch of the match that will decide the 2023 title at Rod Laver Arena. Strong Belarusian Sabalenka prevailed in this situation and fought back from a set down to win her first Grand Slam title.

Aryna Sabalenka-Elena Rybakina: Head-to-head and Grand Slam Records

• Sabalenka, who is preparing for her fourth Melbourne championship final on Saturday, won the title in 2023 and 2024 but was denied a hat-trick in 2025 when she was stunned by American Madison Keys in the final.
• Her match against big-serving Kazakh Rybakina will be her fourth consecutive Melbourne final and a big fight awaits her.
• Sabalenka reached the final in excellent form, winning all 11 matches she played in 2026 without losing a set. He lifted the Brisbane title before coming to Melbourne and is also the reigning US Open champion, underlining his prowess on hard courts.
• According to the Australian Open website, the world No. 1 will become the fourth woman in the Open era to win five major hard-court singles titles since the US Open and Australian Open surfaced in 1978 and 1988 respectively.
• Elena Rybakina’s Grand Slam singles statistics and record underline her consistency across the sport’s biggest events. She won Wimbledon in 2022 and reached the Australian Open final in 2023. Reached the SW19 quarter-finals in 2023 and the semi-finals in 2024. His best result at Roland-Garros was reaching the quarter-finals in 2021 and 2024, and reaching the fourth round of the US Open in 2025.
• Sabalenka will be the favorite, but recent history actually favors the 26-year-old Rybakina. Sabalenka maintains her head-to-head record at 8-6, while Rybakina won the decider in straight sets in their last meeting at the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia in November.
• Rybakina was hugely impressive in Melbourne; Among his victims were world number two Iga Swiatek and world number six Jessica Pegula. Pegula offered insight into what it was like to face the Kazakh, whom she described as “cool as a cucumber.”
• Rybakina’s serves are considered one of the greatest in women’s tennis. He scored 41 aces in the tournament; That’s more than anyone else in the women’s draw.
• Reflecting on the 2023 Australian final, Rybakina said that both she and Sabalenka have developed and changed as players since then. But one thing remains the same; powers. “Serving is important because we are both very aggressive players,” Rybakina said, as quoted by AFP. He added: “Hopefully the shuttle will help me out on Saturday, but even if it doesn’t, I’ll still try to find my way.” “I will fight until the end and I hope this time things go my way.”