Aryna Sabalenka defeated Qinwen Zheng 6-3, 6-2 in the Australian Open 2024 final at the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, to successfully defend her title.
Sabalenka, the second seed, dominated her Chinese counterpart in the final as she only lost a total of five games, finishing the final in just 76 minutes to win her second Grand Slam.
The Belarusian was lauded for her heroics as she became just the fifth woman to win the Australian Open without dropping a set after Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Ash Barty.
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The Belarusian congratulated Zheng for a fantastic tournament as the Chinese played in her first-ever Grand Slam final.
“I want to congratulate Qinwen on an incredible couple of weeks. I know this feeling is tough to lose in the finals. You’re such an incredible player, you’re such a young girl. You’re gonna be in many more finals. You’re gonna get it. I want to say congrats to you & your team on the amazing job you guys have done,” she said.
Sabalenka also became the second player in the Open Era to win her first two Women’s Singles Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open after Azarenka.
Not just that, she went on to become the third player in the last 10 years to win the same Women’s Singles Major event for consecutive seasons after Serena Williams in Wimbledon (2015-2016) and Iga Swiatek at the Roland Garros (2022-2023).
According to Opta, Sabalenka also became the second player in the last 20 years to win the Women's Singles Australian Open final without a single game dropped on serve after Serena Williams in 2007 against Maria Sharapova.
Zheng, the second Chinese player to qualify for a Grand Slam final and first since Li's title run here in 2014, will make her Top 10 debut in rankings on Monday at No.7, while Sabalenka will remain at No.2.