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.

Rybakina will now face World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday's final, setting up a rematch of the Australian Open 2023 championship match. Sabalenka defeated Elina Svitolina in straight sets in the other semifinal, according to WTA website.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion delivered a composed and clutch performance to reach her third career Grand Slam final and her first major title match in three years, overcoming strong resistance from Pegula, particularly in a tense second set.

Rybakina made a solid start, breaking early to take control of the opening set. Her heavy serve and clean baseline hitting kept Pegula under constant pressure, allowing the Kazakhstani to close out the first set 6-3 without facing a break point.

The second set, however, turned into a dramatic battle. 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. The American saved three match points while serving at 3-5 and later broke Rybakina twice when the fifth seed served for the match at 5-4 and again at 6-5.

Despite Pegula's late surge, Rybakina held her nerve in the tiebreak. She saved two set points and produced her best tennis under pressure, sealing the contest with back-to-back winners, including her sixth ace of the match, to clinch the tiebreak 9-7 and book her place in the final after one hour and 40 minutes on court.

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. The result also extended Rybakina's impressive recent run, with the 26-year-old now having won 19 of her last 20 matches and nine straight encounters against Top 10 opponents.

Notably, neither Rybakina nor Sabalenka have dropped a set during the tournament, and it will be interesting to witness who will come up on top in Saturday's high-stakes clash at Melbourne Park's centre court. (ANI)