Aryna Sabalenka Defends Australian Open Title With Dominant Performance

Aryna Sabalenka cruised to an Australian Open victory on Saturday, defeating Qinwen Zheng (6–3, 6–2) to successfully defend her title.

Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam tournament last year in Melbourne and entered this year’s tournament ranked No. 2 in the world. Zheng, meanwhile, was competing in her first Grand Slam final, only making it as far as the quarterfinals in any of her previous major performances.

In seven matches, Sabalenka won every set she played, never playing a third set throughout the tournament and outplaying her opponents by winning 85 games, compared to losing just 31 games.

The 25-year-old became the first back-to-back Australian Open women’s champion since Victoria Azarenka, who won both of her Grand Slams in Australia in 2012 and ’13. Sabalenka’s toughest test came in the semifinals vs. Coco Gauff, who won 10 games in the match and was the only player to get Sabalenka to play a tiebreak in a match.

Despite the victory, Sabalenka will remain the No. 2 player in the world behind No. 1 Iga Świątek.