The Belarusian wins the Australian Open and comes back in three very even sets against Kazakhstan Rybakina, in her first major tournament final at the age of 24
Aryna Sabalenka is the winner of the 2023 Australian Open. The Belarusian, who played her first Grand Slam final at the age of 24, defeated Elena Rybakina, winner of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, in three sets (4-6, 6-3 and 6 – 4), to conquer his first major. With this victory, Sabalenka rises to number two in the WTA ranking and remains undefeated at the start of the year in which she has eleven victories in a row.
Tennis technically a very even final between two players who reached the final at their best. A first set was dominated by the Kazakh, who broke Sabalenka’s serve twice to take the first set 6-4. Curiously, this set won by Rybakina was the first Sabalenka had lost in the entire tournament, a statistic that summed up the level the Belarusian reached the final.
In the second cover, the tables turned. It was Sabalenka who began to let go of the nerves of her first Grand Slam final and began to dominate with her forehand. Rybakina, who was very confident in her serve, gave up her serve to the Belarusian tennis player, who won the second set and sent the match into the final third set.
The third set followed the paths of the whole match, with a clear equality between both tennis players, who were very comfortable with their serve. But in the decisive moment, Sabalenka, the debutante in a Grand Slam final, turned her tennis arsenal upside down to overcome a Wimbledon winner like Rybakina, conquer the final and win her first major.
Sabalenka has won the Australian Open with 247 winners, averaging 35 per match. A revealing piece of information about the Belarusian’s main weapon and which she raised in Melbourne. Rybakina, who started the tournament outside the ‘top 20’, will end up completely in the top ten of the WTA ranking despite her loss in her second Grand Slam final.
At the end of the final, Sabalenka was visibly emotional and thanked her team, who she said “you deserve the trophy more than me”, for all the ups and downs they endured last season. The Belarusian will receive €1.9 million for winning the Australian Open, while her rival in the final will win €1 million.
The women’s draw is characterized by its equality in tournaments throughout the year, and Grand Slams should be no different. In the last 10 courses, there is always at least one new Grand Slam winner every season, something unthinkable in the men’s draw with the hegemony of Djokovic and Nadal.
2023 starts with a new champion, Sabalenka, but in 2022 her rival in the final also made her debut in the major tournaments and won Wimbledon. In 2021, it was Krejcikova and Raducanu who won the US Open at just 18 years old. Iga Swiatek also stands out in 2020, who won her first Grand Slam at Roland Garros and Garbiñe Muguruza, who also won the Paris tournament in 2016 in one of the two Grand Slams held by the Spaniards.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
