On a mild Saturday evening in Melbourne, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus claimed her second consecutive Australian Open women’s singles title, winning 6-3, 6-2 against Zheng Qinwen of China.
With her result, 25-year-old Sabalenka became the first woman since Victoria Azarenka in 2013 to defend the title in Australia. (A victory for 21-year-old Zheng, meanwhile—who reached her first major final in this tournament—would have made her the first Chinese woman since Li Na in 2014 to capture the trophy.)
While Zheng, the 12th seed, put up a valiant (and admirably level-headed) effort at the Rod Laver Arena, the fiercely competitive, second-seeded Sabalenka—who hadn’t dropped a set in the last two weeks—delivered on her signature crushing power. After a slightly nerve-racking championship point, she celebrated her win by simply throwing her arms in the air.
At the trophy ceremony that followed the match, Zheng, who has now entered the WTA’s top 10 for the first time, graciously congratulated Sabalenka before thanking her own team (and the voluble crowd in Melbourne) for their support. “I really enjoyed [playing] in this Australian Open. That was an amazing memory for me,” she said. “I’m sure there’s going to be more and better in the future.”
Sabalenka, who was all smiles as she accepted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup from Evonne Goolagong—herself a champion at the Open 50 years ago—was just as sportsmanly. “You’re going to be in many more finals and you’re going to get it,” she said to Zheng upon taking the podium. “Congrats to you and your team on the amazing job you’ve done.”
Sabalenka went on to address her own team—on whom she said she’d put a little extra pressure after losing the Brisbane International final earlier this month—and her family back in Minsk. (Notably, it was the great wish of Sabalenka’s father, Sergey, who died in 2019, that she win two Grand Slams by the time she turned 25.) “Everything I’m doing,” she declared, grinning, “I’m doing for you.”
