Elena Rybakina was the star performer at the Australian Open, storming her way to the Grand Slam title in Melbourne.
Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final at Rod Laver Arena, which took two hours and 18 minutes to complete.
Big congratulations have been sent to Rybakina following her success, which has helped fire her to third in the WTA rankings.
Rybakina’s only dropped set at the Australian Open arrived against Sabalenka, who has now won two and lost two Melbourne finals in the last four years.
Is Rybakina the best player on the WTA Tour right now?
If not, who is better?
Elena Rybakina proves nobody can get close to her serve at the Australian Open
One of her two titles arrived against Rybakina, who this time around showed very little weakness en route to lifting the trophy.
She kept her emotions in check and showed superb mental strength time and again, but arguably her best asset once again was her serve.
Rybakina is clearly one of the best servers on the WTA Tour, and has been for some time, but she really hammered home that message in Melbourne.
As per OptaAce, she hit a huge 47 aces during the hard-court Grand Slam, despite playing several high-quality opponents.
And not only did she lead the way, but she led the way by some margin, with Sabalenka joint-second on the list with 27.
Of course, Rybakina played plenty of matches, but as well as defeating the world number one, she also soared past top 10 duo Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula.
Perhaps it is no real surprise, but the Australian Open champion also leads the way for aces hit on the WTA Tour in 2026 so far.
In the early stages of the season, she’s already managed 75 aces, with Wang Xinyu representing her nearest competitor on 60.
And with a huge 516, it was a list that Rybakina comfortably topped in the 2025 season, followed by the 373 of Linda Noskova.
Who wins more Grand Slams in their career – Elena Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka?
Aryna Sabalenka among the top five ace hitters at the Australian Open
As mentioned, Australian Open runner-up Sabalenka was Rybakina’s joint-closest competitor in terms of aces hit in Melbourne.
The world number one hit 27 en route to finishing second place, and was joined on that figure by Wang, who lost to Amanda Anisimova in round four.
Following her with 24 was Noskova, who was beaten by Wang in round three, and then the 23 of Alycia Parks, who fell in round two.
| Player | Aces |
| Elena Rybakina | 47 |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 27 |
| Wang Xinyu | 27 |
| Linda Noskova | 24 |
| Alycia Parks | 23 |
On the men’s side, it was Alexander Zverev who led the way with 97, followed by the 91 of Jannik Sinner, as per OptaAce.
The duo, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, were joined in the top five by American trio Taylor Fritz (79), Ben Shelton (71), and Reilly Opelka (60).
