Sabalenka ‘really upset’ at blowing Australian Open final chances

Following back-to-back Australian Open wins, Aryna Sabalenka has now lost two consecutive finals with Elena Rybakina defeat.Published On 31 Jan 2026Following two ‌years of triumph at the Australian Open, Aryna Sabalenka is now processing another two years of ‍pain – and a series of missed chances in Melbourne that have left her “really upset”.A year on from ‍losing the final in three sets to American Madison Keys, Sabalenka fell 6-4 4-6 6-4 to Elena Rybakina on Saturday, the Russia-born Kazakh turning the tables on the Belarusian who beat her for the 2023 title.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Madison Square Garden warns brawlers of life bans before Lopez vs Stevensonlist 2 of 4Why have rapper Ghali’s Israel comments led to Winter Olympics criticism?list 3 of 4Officials defend conditions at pre-Olympic race after Vonn crashlist 4 of 4All to know about the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 stadiumsend of list“I was really upset with myself, I would say, because once again I had opportunities,” Sabalenka said.“I played great until a certain point, and then I couldn’t resist that aggression that she had on court.”While the Keys shock left Sabalenka inconsolable and ⁠her racket in pieces, defeat to fifth seed Rybakina had its own unique sting.The world number one ​held a 3-0 lead in the third set and had all the running before ‍former Wimbledon champion Rybakina broke back in the fifth game and stormed to her second Grand Slam trophy.“She made some winners. I made a couple of unforced errors,” Sabalenka continued.“Of course, I have regrets. You know, when ‍you lead 3-0 and ⁠then it felt like in a few seconds it was 3-4 and I was down with a break. So it was very fast.“Great tennis from her. Maybe not so smart for me but, as I say, today I’m a loser, maybe tomorrow I’m a winner, maybe again a loser. Hopefully not. We’ll see.”It was Sabalenka’s second significant loss to Rybakina in a few months, having been beaten for the season-ending WTA Finals crown.More alarmingly, it ​was her third loss in her last four major finals, with Coco Gauff ‌flooring her at last year’s French Open.