"Thank you to my team for always being there, for enjoying me losing finals": Aryna Sabalenka takes humour from back-to-back Australian Open final losses
WTA
World number one Aryna Sabalenka admitted she was “really speechless” after the 2026 Australian Open final, as she addressed the Rod Laver Arena crowd following her defeat in Melbourne.
Introduced on court as a player whose “fight and determination are to be admired”, Sabalenka once again brought her trademark power and presence to the Australian Open stage, but fell just short in the final to a certain Elena Rybakina who produced an incredible late surge to deny Sabalenka.
Struggling to put her emotions into words, Sabalenka began by acknowledging her opponent’s achievement. The Belarusian went from being the queen of Melbourne winning two in a row to falling short in back-to-back finals. She lost last year perhaps more surprisingly to Madison Keys with this time around a bit less of a shock with Rybakina winning the WTA Finals recently and being one of the form players in women's tennis.
But being World No.1 and the imperious top player in the sport on paper, Sabalenka not being able to claim her hat-trick is one that will likely sting for a while to come.
Sabalenka pays tribute to Rybakina and Craig Tiley
“Honestly guys, I’m really speechless right now,” she said on court. “I’ll try not to forget anything. I want to start with Elena. I want to congratulate you on an incredible run, incredible tennis. Congrats to you and your team on such an incredible achievement.”
Sabalenka then turned her attention to the tournament and the Melbourne crowd, speaking warmly about her connection with the Australian Open.
“Of course, thank you to everyone who made this tournament possible. I love being here. I love playing in front of you all,” she said. “You guys are incredible support. I’m always looking forward to coming and playing in front of you and, well, let’s hope maybe next year is going to be a better year for me.”
She also paid tribute to tournament staff, singling out Craig Tiley for his role in looking after the players. “Of course, thank you. Thank you, Craig, for taking the best care of us. You give everything we need and that’s… what’s that? That’s amazing. Thank you,” she said, prompting a warm response from the crowd. “I love you guys too. Thank you.”
Sabalenka closed her speech by thanking her team, offering a characteristically honest reflection on the highs and lows of finals week.
“Of course, thank you to my team for always being there, for enjoying me losing finals — but also sometimes we win them, so let’s hope for the best,” she said. “Let’s hope that next year is definitely going to be ours, right?”
She finished with a final message of appreciation to the Melbourne crowd. “Yeah, thank you everyone. Thank you.”
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.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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mandoist14-11-2026 - I, like writer of this wonderful article, also picked Noskova to win this entire thing. I would love it if she and Andreeva are in the final.Rapunzel12-11-2026
- "Priorities", Saba... spend less time in front of cameras, anti-Social Media, selfies and back to Tennis.mandoist12-11-2026
- Tell this to Andreeva!mandoist12-11-2026
- Andreeva with 11 games in a row to add to Saba's downward spiral issue !!! Personal feelings aside... Jess Pegula may want to reassess her evaluation of Mirra's abilities.mandoist12-11-2026
- I predicted whenthe list was finalised that Linda Noskova would win the WTA Finals and her matches against Gauff and Kostyuk prove that. She is the best (underrated) player in the world!Rapunzel11-11-2026
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- "Another fresh start is in the cards." Thanks for the Humor!! I'm guessing this is the minimum one can do to keep all your sponsors hanging-on in perpetuity?mandoist09-11-2026
- Vukov is doing this to Lena... AGAIN!!!!! WTA's autonomous collective should be dismantled for allowing Vukov to re-emerge from his hand-slapping suspension. Just ask WTA employees how that's been going lately as they witness his continued verbal abuses. Women's Pro Tennis should start over.mandoist08-11-2026
