Aryna Sabalenka has placed her rivals on notice with a ruthless Australian Open final victory over Chinese underdog Zheng Qinwen.
Sabalenka overwhelmed Zheng 6-3 6-2 on Saturday night to become the first woman to defend their crown at Melbourne Park since fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in 2013.
On a mission after losing last year’s US Open final from a set up against Coco Gauff, Sabalenka shed her tag as a one grand-slam wonder with 76 minutes of focus and ferocity.
The world No.2 broke Zheng three times without dropping her own serve all night to surge to within one tournament victory of supplanting Poland’s Iga Swiatek from the top ranking.
Underlining her dominance, Sabalenka joins greats Ash Barty (2022), Serena Williams (2017), Maria Sharapova (2008) and Lindsay Davenport (2000) as only the fifth woman this century to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup without dropping a set.
“It’s been an amazing couple of weeks and I couldn’t imagine myself lifting this trophy one more time,” Sabalenka said.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling right now. I’m really speechless.”
A one-time emotional wreck undermined by serving yips, Sabalenka thanked her team for their unwavering support and said she could never have won a grand slam without them.
But she singled out her parents – including her ice hockey playing-father Sergey – for introducing her to tennis at the age of six.
“I never speak about my family on the winning speeches before,” Sabalenka said.
“But I actually have to say thank you so much for everything they’ve done for me.
“I love you so much and you’re my biggest motivation. Everything I’m doing, I’m doing for you.”
Believing in destiny, Zheng had been hoping the stars would align and that she would become Asia’s second grand slam singles champion, a neat decade after her Chinese idol and inspiration Li Na won the Australian Open in 2014.
But the second-ranked Sabalenka ended the 21-year-old’s fairytale in clinical fashion.
She asserted her dominance early by winning the opening three games of the match, the first two in the second set and never realistically looked like losing.
“Congrats to Aryna to have such wonderful match here and it’s my first final,” Zheng said.
“I’m feeling a little bit pity but it is this experience for me.
“At the same time, I want to say thanks for all the fans who come here to watch me.
“I feel right now very complicated because I feel that I could do it better, but I didn’t in this match.
“But, anyway, I want to say thanks to my team to help me arrive here and also I really enjoyed to play in this Australia Open.
“That was an amazing memory for me and I’m sure there’s going to be more and better in the future.”
Zheng’s consolation is a rise from 15th in the rankings to world No.7 and a career pay day of $1.725 million.
ARYNA SABALENKA
- Age: 25
- Born: Minsk, Belarus
- Height: 182cm
- Ranking: 2
- Plays: right-handed (two-handed backhand)
- Career prize money: $US20,512,563
- Career titles: 14
- Career win-loss record: 371-175
- Grand slam titles: 2 (Australian Open 2023, 2024)
- Grand slam win-loss record: 66-22
- Australian Open win-loss record: 22-5
- Best Australian Open results: champion 2023, 2024
- Coach: Anton Dubrov
Road to title:
- 1st rd: bt Ella Seidel (GER) 6-0 6-1
- 2nd rd: bt Brenda Fruhvirtova (CZE) 6-3 6-2
- 3rd rd: bt 32-Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) 6-0 6-0
- 4th rd: bt Amanda Anisimova (USA) 6-3 6-2
- QF: bt 9-Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 6-2 6-3
- SF: bt 4-Coco Gauff (USA) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4
- F: bt 12-Zheng Qinwen (CHN) 6-3 6-2
