Aryna Sabalenka’s third Australian Open title hopes challenged by Elena Rybakina

World number one Aryna Sabalenka will face Elena Rybakina in the women’s Australian Open final on Saturday. Both players have reached the final without dropping a set in the tournament.The match is a repeat of the 2023 final at Rod Laver Arena, where Sabalenka came back from a set down to win her first Grand Slam title. She defended the title in 2024 but missed out on a third straight win last year after losing the final to Madison Keys.This will be Sabalenka’s fourth consecutive Australian Open final. She said she expects a tough match against Rybakina, praising her flat and powerful shots. "Her shots are heavy, deep, flat balls. It's not easy to work with, but we have a great history," said the 27-year-old Sabalenka, who defeated Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals."She's an incredible player," she added of the Moscow-born Rybakina, whose only major title so far is Wimbledon in 2022."We had a lot of great battles, a lot of finals we played."I'm looking forward to battling this power," the top seed added with a smile.Sabalenka defeated Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals to reach the final.Sabalenka has been in strong form, winning all 11 of her matches in 2026 without losing a set. She also won the Brisbane title earlier this season and is the current US Open champion.Rybakina, whose only Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2022, has also had a strong run in Melbourne. She defeated Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula on her way to the final. Pegula described Rybakina as calm and difficult to play against.Pegula explained what it is like to play against the Kazakh, describing her as, "cool as a cucumber"."She's always just tough. You know, she's so chill. She doesn't really give you anything," said the American after going down in the semi-finals.Rybakina is also known for having one of the strongest serves in women’s tennis.Rybakina has hit 41 aces in the tournament, the highest in the women’s draw. Sabalenka leads their overall head-to-head record 8–6, but Rybakina won their most recent meeting in straight sets at the WTA Finals in November.Rybakina said both players have improved since the 2023 final. "Since we are both very aggressive players, serve is important," said Rybakina.She added: "Hopefully the serve is going to help me on Saturday, but even if it's not, I'm going to still try to find my way."(I will) fight till the end, and hopefully this time it's going to go my way."