Mission Melbourne: Rybakina Sinks Pegula; Books Aus Open Final Against Sabalenka

Last Updated:January 29, 2026, 17:53 IST

Rybakina -- chasing her second Grand Slam title win -- will face off against the World No.1 and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final on Saturday.

Elena Rybakina will now face off against Aryna Sabalenka in the AO26 final (AFP)

Elena Rybakina rose as the victor in straight sets, following an intense battle against World No. 6 Jessica Pegula in a fiery semifinal, to book her place in the Australian Open final against Aryna Sabalenka.

The world No. 5 delivered a composed, powerful performance to defeat the American 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), barely loosening her grip once she took control.

Coming off a confidence-boosting win over defending champion Madison Keys, Pegula simply couldn’t find answers to the relentless pace coming from the other side of the net.

Rybakina burst out of the blocks, striking clean winners at will and racing to a 3-0 lead as Pegula struggled to settle. The American looked unusually flat early on, leaking unforced errors and allowing Rybakina to dictate almost every rally.

To Pegula’s credit, she steadied herself and clawed back two games in a row, briefly threatening to turn the momentum. But Rybakina shut the door almost immediately.

The Kazakh reeled off another dominant stretch, conceding just one more game to close out the opening set 6-3 with authority.

In the second set, Pegula rediscovered her trademark composure and went toe-to-toe with Rybakina in a series of tightly contested games.

At 2-2, the contest felt finely balanced — and then Rybakina struck.

A sharp break of serve proved decisive. From there, the world No.5 shifted gears again, tightening her patterns, serving with purpose and refusing to give Pegula a way back.

Another controlled surge followed, and in one quick flurry, the semifinal was almost done with the Kazakh needing one more game.

But Pegula was not done. The American dug deep in the following games, staving off the Kazakh from multiple match points, to level up the set at a nail-biting 6-6, forcing tiebreaks.

Tiebreaks were no less tense as both women traded blow after blow, point after point, in an unrelenting standoff.

From 4-4 to 5-5 to 6-6, the two were inseparable.

Finally, after breaking Pegula 8-7, Rybakina sealed the deal with the next point, winning the tiebreak and the match.

Rybakina, chasing her second Grand Slam title, now sets up a blockbuster final against world No.1 and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.

News sports tennis Mission Melbourne: Rybakina Sinks Pegula; Books Aus Open Final Against Sabalenka

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