Elena Rybakina vs Aryna Sabalenka - LIVE: Australian Open women’s final result as Sabalenka wins thriller

Sabalenka fires an ace out wide on 15-30, which was good timing after the double fault. Rybakina works herself into the rally at 30-30, but Sabalenka changes it up with the forehand down the line to force Rybakina to net.

And that’s an important hold. Sabalenka powers a backhand winner off the short return from Rybakina.

You’d still say both Rybakina and Sabalenka are playing well.

Rybakina is such a smooth player when in full flow. This has been an ice-cool start, as she holds to love to immediately put the pressure back on Sabalenka.

That will be a boost to Sabalenka’s confidence, though. She fires two backhand winner to hold comfortably, but the Belarusian will have to break the Rybakina serve if she is to maintain her perfect record of 20 sets in a row to start 2023.

This has been a very impressive start from Rybakina. She races into a 40-0 lead on her serve and is on top in the baseline exchanges so far.

Both Sabalenka and Rybakina are off to a flyer. Sabalenka crushes two more aces to get to 40-0, but then Rybakina shows her skills on the return game. She plants a backhand winner past Sabalenka on the second serve, and then steers a forehand crosscourt winner. Sabalenka tightens slightly and pulls a backhand wide.

Deuce.

Double fault from Sabalenka! Break point.

Great return from Rybakina! She pings the forehand deep, and Sabalenka fires wide off balance.

She breaks from 40-0 down.

Rybakina belts out two aces herself, after the forehand missed wide. Then the 23-year-old fires another out wide.

A strong, and expected, start.

After all the talk about Sabalenka overcoming her issues with double faults, she throws one in on the opening points of the final! It’s followed by two aces, though, as she gets the hold.

In another time, that game may have gone very differently after that first double fault.

*denotes next server

Rybakina, who is the player with the grand slam experience, comes out first and is followed by Sabalenka. Both look cool on the stage.

Sabalenka wins the toss and elects to serve.

Last year’s Australian Open champion, Ash Barty, carries out the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup to a standing ovation on Rod Laver Arena. The Australian announced her shock retirement after last year’s final win over Danielle Collins.

And here come the players!

In other news, Alfie Hewett claimed his seventh grand slam title in wheelchair singles and first at the Australian Open with a straight-sets victory over Japanese teenager Tokito Oda.

Hewett had lost in the final at Melbourne Park for the last two years but made it third time lucky, defeating 16-year-old Oda 6-3 6-1.

The success made it a golden two days for the Norfolk player, who also won the doubles title with British team-mate Gordon Reid on Friday.

Hewett was 3-1 down in the first set but won five games in a row to clinch it and then repeated the sequence in the second set, sealing the victory with an ace before sobbing with delight.