'Immature' Aryna Sabalenka 'capitulated' amid weight of Australian Open expectation moots former Wimbledon champion and former top Brit

Tuesday, 03 February 2026 at 12:00

Aryna Sabalenka will have a lot to think about in what was described by Pat Cash and Annabel Croft, former Wimbledon champion and the latter former top Brit as a capitulation in the final of the 2026 Australian Open.

Sabalenka who is World No.1 in the WTA Rankings and former two time champion was competing in her fourth consecutive Australian Open title match. She lost 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 to fifth seed Elena Rybakina on Rod Laver Arena.

She looked likely to seal a third Australian Open when she led 3-0 in the third set but she squandered her advantage and was broken in each of her next two service games. The four-time Grand Slam champion entered the final having won 11 straight matches and 22 successive sets including the title in Brisbane.

But she like last year couldn't take that form into sealing the title after she also lost in 2025 to Madison Keys in a similar position when it looked likely that she was going to zone in on the title. She now holds a 4-4 record in Grand Slam finals and has lost six out of her last 10 across all levels of tournaments in what started as perhaps a blip but is now perhaps more of a problem than she thought.

'Immature' Sabalenka 'capitulated'

Cash was pretty blunt about the match saying that she was very much effective on her serve but that she capitulated when it looked like the finishing line was in sight.

“Sabalenka was very effective on the first serve in the second set, barely dropping a point when she got the return in,” said the Australian on BBC Radio Live. "Rybakina did have some wobbles on her forehand in the semi-final, but other than that it was clean ball-striking. Sabalenka will go away with a lot of things to think about — she basically capitulated.”

While former top Brit and now pundit/commentator in Annabel Croft also was pretty damning about Sabalenka saying that she didn't handle the situation very well and was 'immature'. She said that as soon as she started strutting around and looking languid it looked to be a war of herself v herself over against Rybakina.

“I think the composure Sabalenka had for most of the match got her to 3-0 in the final set,” said the former world No 4.

“I felt that she had really taken her game to another level, but she couldn’t keep forging ahead because there was resistance down the other end.

“Then the arms started flailing and it got a little bit immature out there. She wasn’t handling the situation well, she was strutting around and she lost her composure completely.

“I felt that Sabalenka really beat herself up in that final set. The minute panic set in she just steamrolled in the wrong direction.”

For Rybakina, it worked out expertly as she managed to win an elusive second Grand Slam title and continued her incredible form after ending 2025 with a real return to form in both Asia and also in Riyadh winning the WTA Finals. While for Sabalenka, it seems she has a lot more to ponder than just another Grand Slam defeat if the words of Cash and Croft are anything to go by.

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Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

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