MELBOURNE, Australia — The serves were big. So big. Other shots too. The points were over quickly. So quickly, including aces on seven of the first 13.
And so it was immediately apparent in the Australian Open women’s final between Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina that the player who could manage to keep her serve in line, get a read on returns and remain steady at the tightest moments would emerge victorious.
That turned out to be Sabalenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, who won her first Grand Slam title by coming back to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Saturday night, using 17 aces among her 51 total winners to overcome seven double-faults.
It was telling that Sabalenka’s remarks during the postmatch ceremony were directed at her coach, Anton Dubrov, and her fitness trainer, Jason Stacy. She referred to them as “the craziest team on tour, I would say.”
“We’ve been through a lot of, I would say, downs last year,” said Sabalenka, who was appearing in her first major final. “We worked so hard, and you guys deserve this trophy. It’s more about you than it’s about me.”
Now 11-0 in 2023 with two titles, Sabalenka is a powerful player whose most glowing strength was also her most glaring shortfall: her serve. Long capable of hammering aces,…
