World No 4 Elena Rybakina upset top seed Aryna Sabalenka to win the Brisbane International title on Sunday, humbling the fiery Belarusian with impeccable play.
Despite the score, it’s always tough to play against Aryna. We always push each other, which is great, and we improve this way so, hopefully, we can continue. Elena Rybakina
In the highly-anticipated contest between last year’s Australian Open finalists and the two highest-ranked players at the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane, both had been in great form coming into the match, beating opponents with little difficulty.
In fact, both had yet to lose a set this week and, although Sabalenka had downplayed the importance of the match before it started, saying she wanted to focus on the Australian Open, it was clear that she desperately wanted to win.
So did Rybakina, who delivered a shock to the World No 2 by out-playing her time and again.
They had met 7 times before, with Sabalenka winning on 5 of those occasions, but, this time, Rybakina was superior in every aspect.
The Russian-born Kazakh opened the match with a service winner, and never looked back, as she won the first 8 games in a row on her way to a 6-0 6-3 win in just 73 minutes over the Australian Open champion in a repeat of their Melbourne Park final.
“Despite the score, it’s always tough to play against Aryna,” Rybakina said. “We always push each other, which is great, and we improve this way so, hopefully, we can continue.”
Elena Rybakina produced an impeccable performance against Aryna Sabalenka in the Brisbane final at the Queensland Tennis Centre
© Chris Hyde/Getty Images
She raced through the opening set as a tight Sabalenka struggled with her groundstrokes and sent several regulation rally balls into the net.
The World No 2 particularly struggled to find her range on her forehand, as Rybakina’s flatter forehand repeatedly kept Sabalenka rushing.
Despite serving 65% of her first serves in, Sabalenka won just 7 points on her serve in the opening frame.
Rybakina kept applying pressure on the Belarusian, who lost all of her service games in the opening set, while the Kazakh lost just one point in her first two deliveries.
She had some minor problems in her 3rd service game, but won that too without facing any break points, and, shockingly, after only 25 minutes, she bagelled the first set for the first time in an official match between the two.
Rybakina made just 3 errors in that set, Sabalenka 12, which was a number higher than the 11 points the Belarusian won during the opener.
After receiving the bagel, Sabalenka grabbed a change of clothes and, desperate for a reset, headed for the bathroom.
Aryna Sabalenka was delivered a rare bagel set by Elena Rybakina in Sunday’s final
© Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Rybakina started the second the same way as the first, with a barrage of service winners, as Sabalenka continued to miss the court wildly, and threatened to smash her racket several times during the first two games.
The Kazakh scored yet another break, before Sabalenka finally got herself on the board when she broke for 2-1 amid scenes of relief as she raised her hands in the air and blew the crowd a kiss.
The Belarusian then took a medical time for treatment on her left leg at the next change of ends, and while she dug in, Rybakina eventually broke her during a long service game before holding her own serve with a pair of aces for a 4-1 lead.
Both then held comfortably enough, but, thanks to Rybakina’s one-break advantage, the 2022 Wimbledon champion rode out the set to win the 2024 Brisbane International, her 1st title of the season, and her 6th WTA Tour title of her career.
Rybakina was presented with the Evonne Goolagong Cawley Trophy by former World No 3 Wendy Turnbull, and improves to 3rd place in the WTA Rankings, overtaking Coco Gauff, who won the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland, which didn’t offer as many points as the WTA 500 even in Brisbane.
Elena Rybakina (L) poses with the winner’s trophy with runner-up Aryna Sabalenka after the championship match
© Chris Hyde/Getty Images
The victory ended Sabalenka’s 15-match win streak on Australian soil, a run that began last year with her wins in Adelaide and the Australian Open, while there are now some apparent injury concerns to ponder.
Stunned by the result, Sabalenka opted to laugh it all off later.
“First of all, Elena, whoa!” Sabalenka laughed. “That was an interesting match. Thanks for those three games. At least we made it look like a fight.
“I don’t know where to start…Good job to you and your team for an amazing week.
“Couple of words for my team, you did a bad job today,” she joked. “6-0, 6-3. That’s all your fault guys.
“Of course we should have finished this week differently, but I think we showed some great tennis,” she added. “Hopefully we’ll do better at the Australian Open.”
Rybakina, who has been in irresistible form all week, spending only 3 hours and 40 minutes on court in her 4 matches, was quick to praise her opponent after she claimed the Brisbane title at her first attempt in the Queensland capital.
She outshone the Belarusian in all aspects, serving beautifully and hitting her groundstrokes with power and depth.
Sabalenka also had an impressive run to the final, but she appeared out of sorts on this day and made a host of unforced errors.
Jelena Ostapenko & Lyudmyla Kichenok hold the trophy after winning the Doubles Final against Greet Minnen & Heather Watson on Saturday.
© Chris Hyde/Getty Images
In the doubles final played on Saturday, Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok & Jeļena Ostapenko from Latvia got back to their winning ways, defeating Belgian Greet Minnen & Heather Watson from Great Britain, 7-5 6-2, in the trophy match.
It is the 3rd team title for Kichenok & Ostapenko and first since 2022.
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