Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan will take on Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the Australian Open 2023 women’s singles final at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park on Saturday, January 28.
The match is scheduled to start at 7:30pm AEDT on Nine, 9HD, 9Gem and 9Now.
Both Rybakina, world No. 22, and world No. 5 Sabalenka come into the final, having won the semis in straight sets.
Rybakina got the better of two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in the semi-finals before knocking out world No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko and last year’s finalist Danielle Collins in the earlier rounds.
Sabalenka, a two-time doubles Grand Slam winner, beat Magda Linette in the semi-final and is yet to drop a set in 2023.
Sabalenka also leads Rybakina 3-0 in the head-to-heads. Their last meeting was at Wimbledon 2021 fourth round, where Sabalenka won in three sets.
Last year, local favourite Ash Barty defeated Danielle Collins in the women’s singles final to win the title. Barty, a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, retired last year, while Rybakina defeated Collins in the third round of the Australian Open 2023.
During an on-court interview, Sabalenka said, “There is still one more match to go. It’s good that I kind of break through in the semifinals, but there is one more match to go. I just want to stay focused.
“I’m just happy that I made this next step. I know that I have to work for that title.”
Last year’s women’s final saw Nine have one of the most dominant wins in years, with a 61.8% primary share and 68.1% network share.
Barty’s historic Australian Open women’s title brought in an average of 2.581m viewers, which was eclipsed further by the presentation of her trophy, which had 2.838m tuning in. These would have registered as the second and fourth highest-ranking segments of 2021, with only the AFL grand final bringing in more viewers.
Elena Rybakina v Aryna Sabalenka in Australian Open Women’s Final on Nine and 9Now from 7:30pm tonight.