Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new Australian Open women’s singles champion. On Saturday in Melbourne, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina in three sets to claim the tournament’s title.
Rybakina took the first set 6-4, putting Sabalenka in an immediate hole that she hadn’t faced yet in the lead-up to the final. But Sabalenka responded with an impressive 6-3 win in the second set before returning the favor to Rybakina and taking the third set 6-4 to win the championship match.
The championship match marked the only of Sabalenka’s seven total matches at the Open where she dropped a set, making her run to her first-ever Grand Slam title an outstanding one.
Here is her special moment:
The moment Aryna Sabalenka became a Grand Slam champion for the first time.
It was a phenomenal battle with Elena Rybakina. pic.twitter.com/HXcWEAnNlK
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) January 28, 2023
The 24-year-old Belarusian champion had to lay down for a moment, shed some tears and soak it all in. What a feeling.
