The Belarus star Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her Australian Open title with a dominant win over China's Qinwen Zheng in the women's final on Saturday, January 27. The World no.2 clinched her second Grand Slam career title with a 6-3, 6-2 win over the world no.15 Zheng at Rod Laver Arena.
The 25-year-old Sabalenka displayed sensational dominance at Melbourne Park in the last two weeks. She faced top-ten-ranked Coco Gauff and Barbora Krejcikova on her way to the final but without losing a single set throughout the tournament.
On the other hand, Zheng played her maiden Grand Slam final after facing no seed challenge on her road to the final. The Chinese star also reached the quarter-final of the US Open last year where she was outclassed by Sabalenka.
Sabalneka became the first player to successfully defend the Australian Open title and first major title in women's singles after Victoria Azarenka's win over Li Na in 2013. The Belarusian ace took only 76 minutes to end Zheng's challenge.
Zheng will enter the top-ten standings in the WTA singles rankings while Sabalenka will remain in second place behind leader Iga Swiatek. Sabalenka thanked all the supporters at Melbourne Park and also praised Zheng's impressive campaign to reach the final.
"I want to congratulate Qinwen on an incredible couple of weeks," Sabalenka said during the post-match presentation. "I know this feeling is tough to lose in the finals. You're such an incredible player, you're such a young girl. You're gonna be in many more finals. You're gonna get it. I want to say congrats to you & your team on the amazing job you guys have done."
Meanwhile, Jan Zielinski-Hsieh Su-Wei claimed the Australian Open 2024 mixed doubles titles on Saturday. The world no.3 pair defeated second-seeded Nea Skupski-Desirae Krawczyk by 6-7, 6-4, 11-9 in the final at Melbourne Park.
