Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka

MELBOURNE, Australia — When Aryna Sabalenka is really deeply contemplating her Australian Open final rematch with Elena Rybakina, it won’t be that breakthrough success in 2023 that she’ll be dialling in on.

It won’t be the other three Grand Slam finals she’s won, either, including the most recent at the U.S. Open. Top-ranked Sabalenka will be trying to derive more motivation from the five finals she lost in 2025.

“I actually know what was wrong in all of those finals that I played and I lost,” Sabalenka said.