Rybakina Wins Second Slam, and There’s No Debating This One
It’s been almost four years since Elena Rybakina lifted a major trophy, with her maiden grand slam title occurring at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. However, at that year’s event, no WTA or ATP points were handed out to the winners due to a famed controversy which prevent Russian and Belarusian , so the “officialness” of the victory was under debate. But this time around, there’s no doubting it. Elena Rybakina emerged out of the blue as an unexpected but reliable contender to win the tournament as we hit the second week mark, and after seven wins, five of them coming against seeded players, she lifted her second major title, with all of the spoils included.
Photo credit: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
After defeating 2nd seed Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals which shifted her onto the radar of strong competitors as the draw narrowed, she then reached the final with a comfortable two-set victory over 6th seed and American hope Jessica Pegula. This booked her a fifteenth date with world #1 and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, and these two must have been feeling some “deja vu,” as exactly three years ago, they faced each other in the same round of the same tournament. That time, Sabalenka came out on top after losing the first set, which clearly made Rybakina even hungrier for the revenge this time around. Similar to their 2023 Australian Open contest, Rybakina struck first by winning the first set, 6-4. She took advantage of Sabalenka’s early-match jitters, excelled in her defense game against some blistering Sabalenka serves, and clinched the crucial break to emerge victorious. However, the top seed had escaped this situation before, and it appeared that would happen when Sabalenka stole a break at 5-4 returning to win the second set.
Things started perfectly for Sabalenka in the third, and she soared to 3-0 after a quick break. But over the course of the set, Rybakina worked her way back into the match by taking advantage of some crucial errors off of Sabalenka’s racket, and by staying consistent and dominant in her service games after two consecutive breaks which lost her the previous set and landed her in a 0-3 crater. She ripped apart Sabalenka’s sloppy service games, and broke twice to put herself up 5-4. With the pressure high at 40-30, she hit a signature ace to end the match, and exhibited her laidback reaction with a smile and a fist pump. With this momentous victory, Rybakina enters herself back into the pool of top WTA players as the season kicks off and we quickly approach Sunshine Double season.
Alcaraz Counters Djokovic Threat, Recovers After Shaky Start
With all the predictions pointing to an Alcaraz-Sinner final showdown, the young Spaniard had to readjust as his old rival, Novak Djokovic, pulled off an unexpected yet thoroughly exciting upset over the Italian in the semifinals. Alcaraz and Djokovic are no strangers, with their rivalry leading all the way back to 2022 in Madrid—a match that Alcaraz won. Since then, they’ve battled it out on even bigger stages: the Nitto ATP Finals, Paris Olympics, and a total of five major encounters. That is, until the 2026 Australian Open which was their sixth grand slam meeting. Their previous battle on the cool blue courts of Melbourne was exactly a year ago—an entertaining exchange that boosted Djokovic into the semi-finals after four tense sets. Similarly to the Rybakina-Sabalenka rivalry on the women’s side, Alcaraz was eager to get revenge over the 24-time grand slam champion as multiple records were on the line, and that’s exactly what he did.
Photo credit: © Rolex/Antoine Couvercelle
Alcaraz entered the final with some uncertainties surrounding his level and physicality, as his semi-final encounter with Alexander Zverev was brutal. Five sets, over five hours, and just a few days to rest up and prepare ahead of the championship match. With Djokovic vying to break the all time record of 24 slams, which he currently shares with Margaret Court, while Alcaraz was aiming for the “career slam,” a feat that means he has triumphed at each of the four prestigious majors, there was a lot that was riding on this match. Djokovic bursted out of the gates flying, breaking Alcaraz early and excelling on every level: high serve percentages, aggressive gameplay, and a consistent return game which landed him with the first point on the board: 6-2. It was clear that Alcaraz was perhaps at his C level game, whereas Djokovic was hovering around the A- mark. But after a few short minutes of changeover time, that grade was improved into the A-range and he was able to maintain it for the rest of the match, resulting is a dominant Alcaraz victory after the following three sets.
The top seed was able to outdo the Serbian on one important level: pace of his shotmaking. After the disappointing first set, he was able to unlock a whole new level of power to counter Djokovic’s consistent all-court game and prevent him from shifting into offensive mode. He went for smaller targets, incorporated the slice more to extend rallies, and confused Djokovic by raising his tactical skill—-mixing up his approach with dropshots and harsh angles to exploit Djokovic’s slower movement compared to his own quick feet. The match ended with a final score of 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. With this crucial victory, Alcaraz has achieved even more milestones, set himself three slams apart from his rival Sinner, and progressed down about a third of the road to the “GOAT status” achieved by the Big Three. It will be interesting to see if we return to the Alcaraz-Sinner dynamic, and how Djokovic fits into that equation. But for right now, it’s safe to say that Carlos Alcaraz is on top of men’s tennis.
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By William Turvey. Top photo credit: © Rolex/Antoine Couvercelle
