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Rybakina–Sabalenka rivalry
Women's Tennis Rivalry in 2019/20s
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rybakina–Sabalenka rivalry is a tennis rivalry between Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka, who competed in 17 matches between 2019 and 2026.[1]
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The rivalry is defined by aggressive, high-powered baseline tennis, with both players relying on big serves and flat, penetrating groundstrokes to dominate rallies. The head-to-head between Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina has evolved into one of the most evenly contested matchups on the WTA Tour, with Sabalenka leading 10–7.[1] Rybakina leads in finals with 4–2 whereas Sabalenka leads 2–1 in the Grand Slams. Their matches are closely contested often going to three sets. The rivalry has been described as "potentially era-defining".[2] They have played multiple matches regarded as best of the era, including their 2023 Australian Open[3] and 2026 Indian Wells Open[4][5] finals, both won by Sabalenka, and the finals of the 2026 Australian Open[6] and 2025 WTA Finals,[7] both won by Rybakina.
Sabalenka held the world no. 1 ranking for 107 weeks, while Rybakina peaked at no. 2. They are ranked world no. 1 and world no. 2 together from March 2026.
History
2019
Rybakina and Sabalenka played their first match in September 2019 at the Wuhan Open quarterfinals. Rybakina entered the tournament as a wild card and battled Sabalenka for three sets before Sabalenka came out on top en route to winning her second Wuhan title.[8][9]
2021
Rybakina and Sabalenka played each other twice in 2021, with Sabalenka winning both meetings.
Sabalenka won their first meeting of the year in the Abu Dhabi quarterfinals, defeating Rybakina in three sets on her way to winning the title.[10][11]
The two met in the Wimbledon round of 16, with Sabalenka overcoming Ryabkina in three sets to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.[12] This was the pair's first Grand Slam meeting.
2023
Rybakina and Sabalenka met four times in 2023, with both players winning two matches each.
Rybakina and Sabalenka's first meeting of the year came in the final of the Australian Open in which Sabalenka came from a set down to win the match 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. This was Sabalenka's first major title.[13]
They met again at the Indian Wells where Rybakina prevailed 7–6(11), 6–4 winning her first WTA 1000 tournament in her career. This was also Rybakina's first victory over Sabalenka in five matches. [14]
Rybakina earned her second win later that year in China, dispatching the top seeded Sabalenka in straight sets in the quarterfinals.[15]
They had their final meeting of the year in the WTA Finals, and despite a 15-minute rain delay along with 15 double faults, Sabalenka fought her way past Rybakina in three sets to advance to the semifinals.[16] They would close the year with their head-to-head record at 5–2 in Sabalenka's favor.
2024
Rybakina and Sabaleka played three times in 2024, with Rybakina winning two of them, closing the gap in their head-to-head at 6–4 for Sabalenka.
Their first match was the final in Brisbane where Rybakina won easily 6–3, 6–0.[17]
They had another notable encounter in Madrid that Sabalenka won in three sets despite being down a set and a break.[18]
The two played their final match of the year at the WTA Finals once again, however this time it was Rybakina who came through in three sets. With this win, Rybakina became the first player representing an Asian country to defeat a world number 1 in the WTA Finals.[19]
2025
Rybakina and Sabalenka met each other four times in 2025, both winning two matches each.
Their first meeting of the year came in the Berlin quarterfinals. After splitting the first two sets, Rybakina held four match points at 6–2 in the third set tiebreaker, before Sabalenka fought back to win 7–6(6), 3–6, 7–6(6) in 2 hours and 42 minutes.[20] This would become their longest match so far.
The two met again on the hard courts of Cincinnati, where Sabalenka was the defending champion. However, Rybakina defeated her in the quarterfinals in a routine straight sets 6–1, 6–4.[21]
Sabalenka returned the favor at the Wuhan quarterfinals, dispatching Rybakina in straight sets 6–3, 6–3.[22]
Their most significant meet-up of the year was at the WTA Finals which Rybakina won by 6–3, 7–6(0) to secure her first WTA finals title.[23] This win brought their head-to-head to 8–6 with Sabalenka holding her lead.
2026
Rybakina and Sabalenka have met three times in 2026 (twice in finals), with Sabalenka winning two matches and Rybakina one.
Their first meeting of the year was at the Australian Open final, a rematch of their 2023 final won by Sabalenka. This was the first time since 2008 Wimbledon that both finalists reached the final without losing any set. In the final, Rybakina broke Sabalenka to win the first set before Sabalenka came back to win the second set. Carrying the momentum into third set Sabalenka took a 3–0 lead in third set. However Rybakina broke her twice to get into a 4–3 lead. Rybakina then sealed the match with an ace. This was Rybakina's second major title.[24]
They met again at the Indian Wells Open final, a rematch of their Indian Wells Open won by Rybakina. Rybakina started the match breaking Sabalenka in sixth game and took the first set. She started the second set breaking Sabalenka again. However, Sabalenka then earned two consecutive breaks to close the set. In the third set, Sabalenka started with an early break to lead 1–0, then after eight consecutive holds of the serve, the score became 5–4. However, Rybakina broke Sabalenka while she was serving for the match, leveling the score 5–5 before eventually heading towards a tiebreaker. The tiebreak was competitive for the majority of the time, with Rybakina serving for the match at 6–5, but Sabalenka hit a crosscourt backhand winner to tie up the match once again. Sabalenka then earned two back-to-back points on her serve to win the match, winning her first Indian Wells title in her third final appearance.[25] After the tournament they were ranked No.1 and No.2 in the WTA rankings.
They met again in the semifinals of Miami Open where Sabalenka defeated defeated Rybakina 6–4, 6–3 en route to winning the Sunshine Double.[26]
Head-to-head matches
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Singles (17)
Rybakina 7 – Sabalenka 10
| No. | Year | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Round | Winner | Score | Length | Sets | Rybakina | Sabalenka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019 | Wuhan Open | WTA Premier 5 | Hard | Quarterfinals | Sabalenka | 6–3, 1–6, 6–3 | 1:41 | 1–2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 2021 | Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open | WTA 500 | Hard | Quarterfinals | Sabalenka | 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 | 1:58 | 2–4 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | 2021 | Wimbledon Championships | Grand Slam | Grass | Round of 16 | Sabalenka | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 | 1:49 | 3–6 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | 2023 | Australian Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Final | Sabalenka | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 | 2:28 | 4–8 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | 2023 | Indian Wells Open | WTA 1000 | Hard | Final | Rybakina | 7–6(13–11), 6–4 | 2:03 | 6–8 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | 2023 | China Open | WTA 1000 | Hard | Quarterfinals | Rybakina | 7–5, 6–2 | 1:34 | 8–8 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | 2023 | WTA Finals | WTA Finals | Hard | Round Robin | Sabalenka | 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 | 2:27 | 9–10 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | 2024 | Brisbane International | WTA 500 | Hard | Final | Rybakina | 6–0, 6–3 | 1:13 | 11–10 | 3 | 5 |
| 9 | 2024 | Madrid Open | WTA 1000 | Clay | Semifinals | Sabalenka | 1–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–5) | 2:17 | 12–12 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 | 2024 | WTA Finals | WTA Finals | Hard (i) | Round Robin | Rybakina | 6–4, 3–6, 6–1 | 1:41 | 14–13 | 4 | 6 |
| 11 | 2025 | German Open | WTA 500 | Grass | Quarterfinals | Sabalenka | 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 7–6(8–6) | 2:42 | 15–15 | 4 | 7 |
| 12 | 2025 | Cincinnati Open | WTA 1000 | Hard | Quarterfinals | Rybakina | 6–1, 6–4 | 1:15 | 17–15 | 5 | 7 |
| 13 | 2025 | Wuhan Open | WTA 1000 | Hard | Quarterfinals | Sabalenka | 6–3, 6–3 | 1:25 | 17–17 | 5 | 8 |
| 14 | 2025 | WTA Finals | WTA Finals | Hard (i) | Final | Rybakina | 6–3, 7–6(7–0) | 1:48 | 19–17 | 6 | 8 |
| 15 | 2026 | Australian Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Final | Rybakina | 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 | 2:18 | 21–18 | 7 | 8 |
| 16 | 2026 | Indian Wells Open | WTA 1000 | Hard | Final | Sabalenka | 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(8–6) | 2:31 | 22–20 | 7 | 9 |
| 17 | 2026 | Miami Open | WTA 1000 | Hard | Semifinals | Sabalenka | 6–4, 6–3 | 1:19 | 22–22 | 7 | 10 |
Performance timeline
Titles Comparison
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| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Combined singles performance timeline (best result)
† both have the same result
