Elena Rybakina reaches her second Australian Open final: Stats
What's the story
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina reached the 2026 Australian Open final after beating sixth seed Jessica Pegula. Rybakina defeated the American star 6-3, 7-6(9) in the women's singles semi-final at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday. With this victory, Rybakina ended Pegula's bid for a second Grand Slam final. Meanwhile, the former made it to her second Australian Open final. Here are the key stats.
Stats
A look at match summary
Rybakina led Pegula 3-0 early in the first set. However, despite winning three games, the latter failed to break. Although Pegula staged a fightback and forced a tie-break, Rybakina won with an ace and a backhand winner. The Kazakh player had a win percentage of 73 and 48 on her first and second serves, respectively, throughout the match. She fired 31 winners.
Numbers
Rybakina eyes her maiden AO title
As mentioned, Rybakina has reached only her second Australian Open final. She was the 2023 runner-up, losing the final to Aryna Sabalenka. In the ongoing tournament, she has won all her matches in straight sets. Rybakina currently has a 25-6 win-loss record at the Australian Open and 70-22 at Grand Slams. Her only Major title came in 2022 (Wimbledon).
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Pegula's journey ends
Pegula earlier reached her maiden Australian Open semi-final. She has made it to a solitary Grand Slam final so far - the 2024 US Open. Notably, Rybakina now has a 4-3 lead over Pegula in the WTA head-to-head series.
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Rybakina to face Sabalenka in final
Rybakina will now face top seed Sabalenka in a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final. The latter defeated Elina Svitolina in her semi-final. Notably, Sabalenka leads Rybakina 8-6 in WTA matches.