It feels implausible now, but when Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina emerged from the Wall of Champions and stepped on to Rod Laver Arena for the final of the Australian Open 2023, it was Rybakina who boasted the superior Grand Slam pedigree.
Rybakina had already etched her name into tennis history as the reigning Wimbledon champion, while Sabalenka was still chasing her first major, her explosive talent yet to be fully realised on the sport’s biggest stage.
A fair bit has changed since.
Sabalenka has been in imperious touch all fortnight at Melbourne Park, charging into the eighth final from her past 12 Slams courtesy of a 6-2 6-3 semifinal trouncing of 12th-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.
The world No.1 joined Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Martina Hingis as the only women to make four straight AO finals.
1999/2000 - Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will be the first pair to meet in the final at the WTA Finals and at the following year’s final at the Australian Open, since Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport (1999-2000). End/Start.#AusOpen | @AustralianOpen @WTA
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 29, 2026
Should she add another chapter to her growing legend on Saturday, Sabalenka would draw level with nine other greats — including Maria Sharapova and Hingis — with five majors.
Her career-turning surge was set in motion on that night here three years ago when she rallied from a set down to defeat Rybakina and receive the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup from Billie Jean King.
Not that Sabalenka believes that watershed moment in 2023 will count for anything this time around.
"Yeah, that was my very first one," she said. "I think I'm not going to look (back) on that final, because me and her, we both are different players.
"We went through different things. We're much stronger, mental and physically, and we're playing better tennis now. So I will approach this as [a] completely different match, and we have [a] long history after that final. I'll approach this match as the very first one, and I will do my very best."
While Sabalenka has since transformed herself into the tour’s most dominant force, Rybakina had been unsuccessful in her endeavours to return to a major final, until her 6-3 7-6(7) victory over American Jessica Pegula in Thursday’s other semifinal.
Last season, Rybakina failed to progress beyond the fourth round of any Slam and did not reach a final at WTA 1000 level.
"Last match we played here, it was very close," she said, referring to her tense loss to Sabalenka in the 2023 AO decider. "I think throughout the match of course I had some little opportunities, but in the end of the third set, I think Aryna stepped in. She served much better. She deserved that win.
"So of course many years passed, a lot of matches have been played. Hopefully with all the experience which I got from this last match, (the) last final I played here, I can bring it to Saturday's match and do my best, focus on my serve, of course."
That result marked Sabalenka’s fourth victory over Rybakina from their first four meetings.
The tall Kazakh, who will move to No.3 in the rankings next week, has since turned the tide, winning six of her past 10 encounters against Sabalenka to trim the head-to-head deficit to 8-6.
Rybakina has claimed three of the pair's four championship deciders, her biggest victory of 2025 coming against Sabalenka in the WTA fnals showpiece in Riyadh last November, 6-3 7-6(0).
"Of course, the WTA Finals gave (me) a lot of confidence, because you played against top players," Rybakina said. "I maintained my level. I played tough matches, very close matches. I won all of them."
Rybakina has unleashed 41 aces at this year’s Open – 14 more than any of her rivals – and has ranked in the WTA's top two in that category every year since 2020.
She is one of the few players in the world capable of matching Sabalenka's raw power. Neither player has dropped a set all tournament.
"I think her shots are heavy – deep, flat balls," Sabalenka said. "It's not easy to work with, but we have a great history. She’s an incredible player. We’ve had a lot of great battles, a lot of finals we’ve played."
Rybakina’s nerves – and her usually lethal first serve – wavered at times against Pegula. A repeat of that would hand Sabalenka a significant advantage.
"Since we are both very aggressive players, serve is important," she said. "Yeah, fight till the end, and hopefully this time it's going to go my way."