Sobolenko started the match weak, making five double faults in the first set. Rybakina, on the other hand, got off to a good start and won the set 6-4, forcing the Belarusian to lose her first match of the entire tournament.
However, she quickly found her groove and beat Rybakina in the second set. Sobolenko continued his momentum in the final set, winning the first TBS of his career – 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, celebrating the victory with tears of joy and relief.
After receiving her trophy from tennis legend Billie Jean King, the world No. 5 congratulated her opponent on reaching the final and wished her well in a moving speech at the awards ceremony.
“I want to thank Miss King, she has done so much for our sport. Congratulations, Elena. Hopefully we will have a lot more fights, hopefully in the Grand Slam final,” Sobolenko said.
She also thanked the viewers for their support as well as her team.
“Thank you all and thank you guys for the incredible atmosphere. It was a pleasure to play in the tournament. Thanks to my team, it is the craziest team on the circuit. You deserve this trophy more than me”, she added.
On that note, let’s take a look at some of the accomplishments the world No. 5 achieved with an epic victory at the Australian Open:
1 Arina Sabolenko has become the second Belarusian tennis player to win the Grand Slam tournament
With her victory, Sobalenko became the second Belarusian tennis player to win a Grand Slam in singles, after compatriot Victoria Azarenka, who won the Australian Open titles in 2012 and 2013.
With three Grand Slams, Belarus leads Argentina, Canada, Latvia, Kazakhstan and China, and is tied with Poland and Romania in the most WTA Major trophies in the Open era. .
No. 2. 29th Open Era tennis player to win Australian Open title.
The Australian Women’s Open was first held in 1922 and has been contested 110 times. Sobolenko joins the list of champions, becoming the 29th Open Era player to lift the trophy.
There have been four different winners at the Australian Open over the past four years: Sofia Kenin (2020), Naomi Osaka (2021), Ashleigh Barty (2022) and Sobolenko (2023). In the open era, Serena Williams holds the most major Melbourne titles (seven), followed by Margaret Court, Steffi Graf, Evonne Goolagong and Monica Seles (four each).
No. 3. 58th Open Era tennis player to win a Grand Slam title.
Women’s tennis is dominated by players such as Serena Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slams, and Steffi Graff, who has won 22. The Belarusian has now joined them, earning a place as the 58th player in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title.
Arina Sobolenko is now part of a group of active players such as Barbora Kreychikova, Emma Radukanu, Elena Ostapenko, Sloan Stevens and Elena Rybakina who will be in contention for their second Grand Slam.
No. 4. 5th tennis player in the Open era to win her first Grand Slam final by losing the first set.
Arina Sobolenko has become the fifth Open Era woman to win her first Grand Slam final thanks to a comeback after Nancy Ritchie, Elena Ostapenko, Sofia Kenin and current final rival Elena Rybakina.
Last year at Wimbledon, Rybakina lost the first set before claiming the title by defeating Ons Jaber.
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I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
