Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a set down to defeat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and claim her first grand slam title in a terrific Australian Open final.
In a battle of two of the biggest hitters in the women’s game, Belarusian Sabalenka seized the initiative after dropping the opening set to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to become the first singles player to win a slam under a neutral flag.
The 24-year-old could not bring herself to watch Rybakina claim the title at the All England Club, so disappointed was she at being banned from competing because of Belarus’ role in supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But Sabalenka, fuelled by a remodelled serve and a commitment to keeping her emotions in check, has been a woman on a mission all fortnight.
One sloppy service game cost her the opening set but Sabalenka did not lose belief or take a step back and Rybakina could not resist the powerful hitting of her opponent.
The final game was full of tension but Sabalenka made it across the line on her fourth opportunity before falling to the court in delight.
Remarkably, this was the seventh successive grand slam match she has won having lost the opening set.
There were a disappointing number of empty seats on Laver for the match, a far cry from 12 months ago, when Ashleigh Barty gave Australia a long-awaited home champion.
One of the biggest cheers of the night was for the 26-year-old as she carried the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup on to court prior to the start of the match.
First blood in the battle to succeed her went to Rybakina, who broke Sabalenka from 40-0 in the third game.
The Belarusian breached the semi-final barrier at the fourth time of asking and came into the match having not dropped a set in 10 matches this year, and did not panic at the early deficit, getting a grasp of her opponent’s big serve in the eighth game and breaking back.
The aces had been flowing from both women’s rackets, six came in the first 11 points, but Sabalenka, well aware that safe second serves would be gobbled up, also threw in five double faults in the opening set, two in a poor ninth game that handed the initiative right back to Rybakina.
The 23-year-old gratefully accepted the gift and served out the set to love.
Sabalenka might have let the match get away from her, especially when Rybakina piled on the pressure early in the second but, with her serve coming to her rescue when she needed it, the fifth seed stayed strong.
Sabalenka was the more aggressive, outhitting Rybakina comprehensively in terms of winners, and she got her reward with a break for 3-1.
Now it was the Wimbledon champion having to dig deep on serve, saving three break points in the sixth game and then two set points at 5-2.
But Sabalenka proved up to the task of serving it out, clinching the set with a second serve ace to send the contest to a decider.
The momentum now was with the 24-year-old, and she elevated her level again in the early stages of the decider, pushing ever closer to the lines but rarely beyond them in what was surely the best performance of her life.
Rybakina withstood a break point in a long game at 2-2 but her resistance cracked two games later as Sabalenka moved to within sight of victory.
The final moment did not come easily, with Sabalenka double-faulting on her first match point and then missing a forehand on her second as a baby cried in the stands.
But she pulled out her fastest serve of the match to save a break point and finally clinched victory on her fourth chance after two hours and 28 minutes.
Read more from Mina Al-Oraibi
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What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE v Zimbabwe A
Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs
Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
Company%20profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
