Australian Open 2023 women’s final LIVE: Elena Rybakina faces Aryna Sabalenka in battle for Australian Open crown

Those tennis-goers who took a punt and went to Melbourne Park on Saturday had the chance to witness an epic and compelling junior girls’ final that lasted more than three hours.

In a contest which left both players exhausted and in tears at the finish, Russia’s Alina Korneeva defeated her compatriot Mirra Andreeva 6-7 (7-2), 6-4, 7-5.

Each of the three sets exceeded the one-hour mark and Korneeva finally got the win – and the title – by breaking her friend Andreeva in the 11th game of the deciding set before serving it out.

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Nine commentator Sam Smith reveals how she expects the women’s singles final to play out.

Sabalenka heads into this clash having won all three meetings between the pair, the last of which a fourth-round clash at Wimbledon in 2021 – 12 months before Rybakina was crowned the queen of the All England Club.

However, the Belarusian hasn’t had it all her own way against Rybakina, and on each occasion has needed three sets to overcome the Kazakh.

Despite having a tougher road to the final than Sabalenka, Rybakina has dropped only one set at this year’s Australian Open, and took the prized scalp of pre-tournament favourite and world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.

But while Rybakina has faced four seeds in her six matches to date, Sabalenka has only met two and hasn’t dropped a set en route to the final.

Sabalenka (five) is currently ranked 20 places higher than Rybakina (25) in the world and also has eight more WTA titles to her credit than the 22nd seed (11-3).

But Rybakina, 23, has the advantage in the tally that matters most – grand slam wins (1-0), and 24-year-old Sabalenka will be desperate to catch up tonight.

Aryna Sabalenka will need to fight off demons with her serve to match Elena Rybakina.

Saturday night’s final provides an unmistakable reminder of the intersection between sport and politics – with bans as common in tennis vernacular as backhands – but the showdown between Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will also showcase the wonder of power hitting in the women’s game.

Belarusian Sabalenka, playing in Melbourne as a neutral, is within touching distance of a grand slam win that will come with no recognition of her nationality. In a separate twist, her opponent, Moscow-born Rybakina, the reigning Wimbledon champion, switched her allegiance to Kazakhstan long before Russian president Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

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Neroli Meadows and Wally Masur take a closer look at the men’s semi-finals, Djokovic answers questions, and a full preview of the women’s final between Rybakina and Sabalenka.

Good evening everybody and welcome to our live, rolling blog of the 2023 Australian Open women’s final between Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.

It promises to be a fantastic climax to this year’s tournament between the 22nd seed from Kazakhstan and the No.5 seed from Belarus.

Rybakina is aiming to make it two grand slams out of three after claiming her maiden major title at Wimbledon last year, while Sabalenka is gunning for her first ever grand slam trophy.

This is the furthest both players have been at the Australian Open and while Rybakina has already featured in a grand slam final, this is Sabalenka’s first appearance in a major decider.

But the action doesn’t stop when the women do, because Australian wildcard pairing Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler take to the court afterwards in the men’s doubles final when they meet Monaco’s Hugo Nys and Poland’s Jan Zielinski.

Can Hijikata and Kubler emulate what another Aussie pair in Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis did last year at Melbourne Park? We will find out in a few hours’ time.