Australian Open: Sabalenka's final comeback sends her into grand slam record books
Patric Ridge
January 28, 2023 14:18 MYT
January 28, 2023 14:18 MYT
Aryna Sabalenka's comeback in the Australian Open final sent her into the grand slam record books.
Sabalenka beat last year's Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4 in Melbourne on Saturday.
That saw the fifth seed clinch her maiden grand slam title, and become the fifth woman in the Open Era to achieve the feat via a comeback in the final.
Sabalenka joined Nancy Richy, Jelena Ostapenko, Sofia Kenin and, ironically, Rybakina on that list.
The Belarusian hit 17 aces against Rybakina, trailing only Serena Williams (18 against Maria Sharapova in the 2015 final) for the highest amount of aces in a women's singles showpiece match at Melbourne Park.
Sabalenka has now won the title in three of the four tournaments in which she has faced Rybakina (Wuhan 2019, Abu Dhabi 2021 and the Australian Open 2023).
She is the 29th different woman in the Open Era to secure the title at the Australian Open and the 58th women's player in the Open Era to win a major.
5 - Aryna Sabalenka became the fifth female player in the Open Era to win her maiden Grand Slam final thanks to a comeback win after Nancy Richey, Jelena Ostapenko, Sofia Kenin and ... Elena Rybakina. Desired.@WTA_insider @WTA | #AusOpen #AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/Ke5KR38NJD — OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 28, 2023
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