Rybakina Breaks Rank: Elena Rybakina won the 2026 Australian Open women’s singles title after a very hard final match against Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne. The match went on for 3 sets and Rybakina won it with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
She played strong shots and broke Sabalenka’s serve early which helped her win the first set. In the second set, she played better, made fewer mistakes and won the set to make the match equal. In the final set, things looked difficult for Rybakina as Sabalenka quickly took a 3-0 lead. She slowly started playing better again and won one game after another and ended up winning five games in a row.
This win meant a lot to Rybakina because she had lost to Sabalenka in the Australian Open final three years ago.
This 50-Cent Coin Could Be Worth $27,500: How to Recognise it?
Prize Money and Ranking of Rybakina
View this post on Instagram
By winning the Australian Open, Rybakina earned a prize money of $2.7 million. This is the biggest prize ever given to a women’s singles champion at the Australian Open. It is also $600,000 more than what the winner received in 2025.
This victory has also helped her climb the rankings. Rybakina was knocked out in the fourth round last year, but now she has moved up to world No. 3. She has jumped two places and switched spots with Coco Gauff, who lost badly to Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.
Sabalenka, who came into the tournament as world No. 1, stays at the top of the rankings. Even though she lost the final, her ranking did not change because she also finished as runner-up last year. She remains ahead of Iga Swiatek, who is ranked second.
How to Activate Your OnePay (US) Card at www.onepay.com?
What’s Next for the New Champion?
This Australian Open win is Rybakina’s second Grand Slam title. Her first big win came at Wimbledon in 2022. She has still not won the French Open or the US Open, and these two tournaments are now her main goals for 2026.
