Melbourne [Australia], January 29 (ANI): Fifth seed Elena Rybakina powered her way into the women’s singles final of the Australian Open 2026, defeating sixth seed Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6(7) in a high-quality semifinal at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s final, setting up a rematch of the Australian Open 2023 championship match. Rybakina made a solid start, breaking early to take control of the opening set. Pegula, bidding to become the first woman in the Open Era to reach her first two Grand Slam finals after turning 30, showed remarkable resilience. With the win, Rybakina improved her head-to-head record against Pegula to 4-3 and claimed victory in their first-ever Grand Slam meeting.