Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina set for Australian Open final

Aryna Sabalenka earned her fourth consecutive appearance in the Australian Open final on Thursday, dispatching Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-2, 6-3.

She will be seeking her third singles title at the Grand Slam and is feeling confident heading in the Saturday match in Melbourne.

"Right now my mentality is like I'm ready to do whatever -- [whoever] is going to be in that finals -- I'm ready to go out there and fight with what I have and do everything I can," Sabalenka after the match.

"I think when I have this mentality, I play my best tennis, and I'm there, I'm fighting, I have my opportunities. So that's my approach to the finals this season."

That opponent will be No. 5 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, a former Wimbledon champion who battled No. 6 Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal, winning 6-3, 7-6 (7) on the fourth match point.

The final will be a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final in which Sabalenka, of Belarus, rallied to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

"I think her shots are heavy, deep, flat balls," Sabalenka said of Rybakina. "It's not easy to work with, but yeah, we have a great history. She's incredible player. We had a lot of great battles, a lot of finals we played. I'm looking forward to battle this power."

Sabalenka said she gained motivation Thursday from a call that went against her early in the match. With Sabalenka leading 2-1, Svitolina was awarded a point mid-rally after the official declared a grunting sound to be a "hindrance."

Sabalenka insisted the point be reviewed, but the call was not overturned. After the match, Sabalenka said she simply was "exhaling."

The call infuriated her to the point that she stepped up her game.

"I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call, and it really helped me to get that game," she said.

Sabalenka won 70% of her first-service points to go with eight of 10 points on rallies of at least nine shots.

"I think I was returning good, but then her second shot was unbelievable," Svitolina said. "She was returning well, quick, and then she had another punch coming, the second shot after her serve. I mean, that's why she's World No. 1."

Rybakina worked her way to her third career Grand Slam final after saving two set points in the second-set tiebreak before ousting Pegula.

The players exchanged six break points in the second set. With Pegula trailing 5-3, she fought off three match points, then broke Rybakina's serve to tie the set at 5-all. The set closed with two service breaks, necessitating the tiebreaker.

"It was really, really stressful," Rybakina said. "I had some epic tiebreak here a couple years ago and lost it ... a little flashback came. But I'm super happy that in the end it turned my way."

In the final, Rybakina will face a familiar opponent in Sabalenka. Head-to-head, Sabalenka has an 8-6 lead. In their most recent meeting, Rybakina won 6-3, 7-6 (0) in th 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh title match, earning a record $5.235 million.

--Field Level Media