For two straight years, Aryna Sabalenka only knew joy after an Australian Open final.
Now, for two straight years, she has only known pain.
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The world No.1 suffered a second consecutive upset loss in the Melbourne Park decider when beaten by Elena Rybakina 6-4 4-6 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena.
Sabalenka was up 3-0 in the final set but dropped five consecutive games to lose the championship.
While she showed great sportsmanship to immediately congratulate Rybakina, the Belarusian then cut a heartbroken figure, sitting on her bench with a towel covering her head before tearily peering out from underneath.
“This one is going to be incredibly difficult to recover mentally from for Sabalenka,” Alicia Molik said on Nine.
She was able to maintain her composure better than in 2025, when she lost to Madison Keys, smashing her racquet and storming off court before returning for the trophy ceremony.
Sabalenka remained on court and gave an emotional speech which still contained the humour which reflects her bright personality.
“Honestly guys, I’m really speechless right now,” she said after accepting the runners-up trophy.
“I’ll try not to forget anything. I want to start with Elena. I want to congratulate you on an incredible run. Incredible achievement.
“Thank you everyone who made this tournament possible. I love being here. I love playing in front of you all. You guys are incredible support.
“I’m always looking forward to come and play in front of you and well, let’s hope next year is maybe gonna be a better year for me.
“Thank you to my team for always being there, for enjoying me losing finals, but also sometimes we win them. So let’s hope for the best.
“Let’s hope that next year Daphne (the women’s champion trophy) is going to be ours, right?”
Sabalenka has now made four of the last five slam finals, but only won one of them.