BY JAMES BECK
Aryna Sabalenka appeared to have everything lined up for another Australian Open title.
She was unbeaten in 2026. She hadn’t lost even one set.
She already had a pair of Australian Open championship trophies from her last three trips to Melbourne.
Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff surprisingly had already tasted defeat in this year’s Australian Open, and had already seen their Nos. 2 and 3 rankings take losses. There didn’t appear to be anyone left in the tournament that could handle Sabalenka’s big game.
RYBAKINA WENT FROM NO FACTOR TO CHAMPION
But there was Elena Rybakina still going. Out of the limelight, of course.
Then came Saturday night in Melbourne.
Rybakina certainly wasn’t expected to be a big factor on championship night, even though the Russian-born 26-year-old had won a Wimbledon title in 2022. That was a surprise within itself.
But she had taken care of Swiatek and always dangerous Jessica Pegula this Melbourne.
It started badly for Sabalenka this time and ended the same way. She lost the first two games of the match, but bounced back to take the second set and the first three games of the decisive third set.
But that was about the end of Sabalenka’s fun.
SABALENKA’S SKILLS APPEARED TO BE LOST
Rybakina took over with her high-sweeping ground strokes and high-reaching serves.
Sabalenka was simply lost. Her power turned into misses and uncontrolled ground strokes and serves. She ended this win with an ace.
All of that turned into a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory for Rybakina.
Rybakina appears this time to be capable of becoming a superstar. She has all of the shots and moves well.
And she has power on her serves and ground strokes, and has a unique distribution of both. She sees the open spots
She doesn’t seem to have highs and lows.
The age is a little of a puzzle. She should have been headed for greatness when she won Wimbledon.
Maybe things will fall into place for Rybakina this time.
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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.