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The big-serving 26-year-old upset world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 4-6 6-4 in Saturday\u2019s title decider<\/a>, a rematch of the 2023 final.<\/p>\n On that occasion the Belarusian fought back to win in three sets and deny Rybakina a second Grand Slam crown, the Kazakh having triumphed on the grass at Wimbledon a few months earlier.<\/p>\n This time Rybakina displayed her trademark cool to earn revenge.<\/p>\n \u2018F*** YOU, NO\u2019: Sabalenka\u2019s cheeky coach reply in surprising \u2018if you don\u2019t laugh, you\u2019ll cry\u2019 presser<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO RECOVER FROM\u2019: World No.1 left in tears by more Aus Open final heartbreak<\/a><\/p>\n Sabalenka upset in 2026 AUS Open final | 02:44<\/p>\n Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several women players from Russia have changed allegiance to other countries. <\/p>\n But Rybakina\u2019s switch to play under the Kazakh flag happened in 2018 when she was a little-known 19-year-old at 175 in the world. <\/p>\n Never the most comfortable or expressive in front of the media, she quickly became tired of questions about it as her rise to prominence began.<\/p>\n Longest semi final in Aus Open history! | 04:48<\/p>\n \u201cThey believed in me. There is no more question about how I feel,\u201d Rybakina said when quizzed about representing Kazakhstan on her run to the Wimbledon title in 2022. <\/p>\n It was a contentious issue then because Russian and Belarusian players were barred from Wimbledon over the war.<\/p>\n And yet there was Rybakina, from Moscow and to become Wimbledon champion. Asked how much time she spent in the Russian capital — where her parents were — she swerved the question and said she trained in Slovakia and Dubai. <\/p>\n \u201cSo I don\u2019t live anywhere, to be honest,\u201d said Rybakina, who started playing tennis aged five and trained at the renowned Spartak Club in Moscow as a junior. <\/p>\n The road from Russia to Kazakhstan was facilitated by the long-standing president of the Kazakhstan tennis federation, Bulat Utemuratov. <\/p>\n Elena Rybakina greets Bulat Utemuratov after the final.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n According to Forbes, the powerful businessman has a personal net worth of $3.7 billion ($AU5.3 billion).<\/p>\n Utemuratov was in Rybakina\u2019s box to see her win Wimbledon.<\/p>\n Speaking in Melbourne, Rybakina said the change to Kazakhstan came when she had just finished school and was trying to decide whether to study in the United States or continue playing professional tennis. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was of course not easy financially,\u201d said the fifth seed. \u201cI remember I played WTA tournaments. I had great results. They saw me, and that\u2019s basically how we found each other.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Pushed to my limit’ Classic Novak win | 03:25<\/p>\n Shy but a powerful hitter on court, Rybakina was in the spotlight again 12 months ago for non-tennis reasons. <\/p>\n Rybakina had wanted to bring her on-off Croatian coach Stefano Vukov back into her team for the Melbourne major. <\/p>\n But Vukov, who helped Rybakina win Wimbledon, was under a provisional suspension over a potential breach of the WTA\u2019s code of conduct. <\/p>\n Vukov was reported to have used harsh and abusive behaviour towards players, claims he denied.<\/p>\n The New York Times reported Rybakina and Vukov, 12 years her senior, stayed in the same hotel room during the 2025 Australian Open while he was banned and cited multiple sources claiming their relationship had become romantic.<\/p>\n Vukov began working with Rybakina when she was 19.<\/p>\n At the 2024 US Open, the report alleged, Vukov was \u201ctold by a member of Rybakina\u2019s team that he had been dismissed as her coach and to leave her alone.<\/p>\n \u201cVukov instead walked the lobby and hallways of her Manhattan hotel. He flooded her phone with text messages and more than 100 calls \u2014 according to sources with personal and professional relationships with Rybakina who were present at the hotel \u2014 as he sought another chance to convince Rybakina that her tennis career could not thrive without him.\u201d<\/p>\n He was also her coach as she won in Melbourne, being awarded a trophy during the post-match ceremony.<\/p>\n Stefano Vukov, coach of Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan is seen in the player’s box in the Women’s Singles Quarterfinal against Iga Swiatek of Poland during day 11 of the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 28, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Lintao Zhang\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Rybakina was exasperated by the allegations and suspension.<\/p>\n \u201cI always said that he never mistreated me,\u201d she said at the time.<\/p>\n Vukov was back in Rybakina\u2019s corner at the US Open last year, after the ban preventing him from entering all WTA tournament venues was lifted in August.<\/p>\n \u201cThe WTA is fully committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for all athletes and other participants, as set out in our WTA code of conduct and safeguarding code,\u201d the tour said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cAny sanctions issued following a breach of these safeguarding rules are carefully considered and are subject to appeal before an independent tribunal.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile case details remain confidential, we can confirm that Mr Vukov is eligible to receive credentials at WTA events.\u201d<\/p>\n On the court Rybakina, who is six feet tall (1.84 metres), has a booming serve and the kind of power that made Saturday\u2019s final against Sabalenka a blockbuster. <\/p>\n She sent down 47 aces in the tournament, easily more than any other women\u2019s player.<\/p>\n In addition to that, the American Jessica Pegula, beaten by Rybakina in the semi-finals, said it was her icy demeanour which made her so formidable. <\/p>\n Pegula described the inscrutable Rybakina as \u201ccool as a cucumber\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s always just tough. You know, she\u2019s so chill. She doesn\u2019t really give you anything,\u201d said Pegula after going down in straight sets. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not really sure if she\u2019s upset or if she\u2019s excited or what it is. \u201cI think in today\u2019s game that goes a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Born in Moscow but playing for Kazakhstan, Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina once said that \u201cI don\u2019t live…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-447193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}