Fire meets fire when hard-hitting Aryna Sabalenka clashes with big-serving Elena Rybakina in the women’s Australian Open final here on Saturday. 

The showdown pits two players who are on rampaging form and yet to drop a set in Melbourne in the past fortnight. They know each other very well, having met 14 times previously, and it is a rematch of the 2023 title decider at Rod Laver Arena. The Belarusian Sabalenka prevailed on that occasion, fighting back from a set down to win her first Grand Slam crown. The World No. 1 won it again in 2024, but was denied a hat-trick last year when she was stunned in 
the final by the American Madison Keys.