Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka handle themselves very differently on the tennis court. Sabalenka, the WTA No. 1, is far more vocal and bombastic, while Rybakina, who will be No. 3 when the new WTA rankings come out, is quiet and staid. Both ways can work.
For Rybakina, her way is working more and more. After a troublesome 2024, when she withdrew or retired from double-digit events, 2025 was a bit more consistent. She won three tournaments. But it was her ongoing issues, at least from an outsider's perspective, with her coach, Stefano Vukov, that drew the most interest.
After defeating Sabalenka in the final of the 2026 Australian Open, Rybakina seemed to allude to the controversy surrounding her coach, who was suspended for six months in 2025 and only returned after an appeal. The WTA stated he had broken Code of Conduct rules in his relationship with Rybakina, but the player disputed that the coach had done anything wrong.
Elena Rybakina defeats Aryna Sabalenka to win the Australian Open
Both Rybakina and Vukov received trophies after the Kazakh's victory against the Belarusian, a new part of the Aussie Open ceremony, and with Rybakina back to winning major events, the coach is likely going nowhere soon. Rybakina and Vukov has splitr for a few months at the end of 2024, only for the coach to return on January 1, 2025.
The player's improved form signals that the coach does have somewhat of a positive effect, while tennis fans hope things stay that way. Since October, Rybakina has won the WTA Finals and the Australian Open, and her rise back to No. 3 matches a career high.
Defeating Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne is even more impressive. The Belarusian has made four straight finals at the initial Grand Slam of the calendar year, and has held the trophy in 2023 and 2024. She rarely loses in Australia at all, no matter the tournament.
She appeared on her way to winning her third title in four years after dropping the first set 4-6, but then taking the second set at the same score. She then rushed out to a 3-0 lead in the third set and was seemingly running away with the victory. Rybakina, through a series of powerful forehands and brilliant returns of Sabalenka's first serve, came back to win five straight games.
She took the decisive set 6-4, and after the players shook hands and took their part in the trophy ceremony, Rybakina said, "It's hard to find words now. Of course, I want to congrats Aryna on her amazing results for a couple of years. I just hope we're going to play many more finals together. It was a battle. Honestly...We had a lot of things going on. I'm really glad we achieved this result."
The "lot of things" seemingly an allusion to the Vukov issues. One thing is certain, however: Elena Rybakina is back to winning majors (she won her first at Wimbledon in 2022) and being a threat to reach No. 1 on the WTA tour in 2026.