MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) —
Aryna Sabalenka figures she'll feel some jitters when she steps out on court to face
Elena Rybakina in the
Australian Open women's final.
Saturday's contest is, after all, Sabalenka's first singles title match at a Grand Slam tournament. Rybakina is more familiar with this stage: She won Wimbledon a little more than six months ago.
"That's OK, to feel little bit nervous. It's a big tournament, big final," Sabalenka said. "If you're going to start trying to do something about that, it's going to become bigger, you know?"
She is seeded No. 5; Rybakina is No. 22. Sabalenka is a 24-year-old from Belarus; Rybakina is a 23-year-old who was born in Moscow and began representing Kazakhstan in 2018 when that country offered to fund her tennis career.
"For me, this time, I would say it was a bit easier, compared to Wimbledon, when I was playing for the first time (in a major) quarters, semis, final," said Rybakina, the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to beat three past Grand Slam champions during one edition at Melbourne Park.