The biggest threat to Aryna Sabalenka’s dominance at the Australian Open may not be Coco Gauff

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Aryna Sabalenka is undoubtedly the player to beat at the Australian Open, having won the last two editions of the Grand Slam.

Sabalenka has been tipped to win the Australian Open, with the Belarusian currently top of the WTA rankings.

And she has just furthered her status as the world’s best by beating Polina Kudermetova to win the Brisbane International.

Sabalenka came from behind to defeat the Russian qualifier to secure a fourth career WTA title in Australia.

The three-time Grand Slam champion is now seeking a hat-trick of Australian Open titles, having beaten Qinwen Zheng to lift the trophy last time out.

Why Elena Rybakina is the biggest threat to Aryna Sabalenka’s Australian Open dominance

Sam Stosur wants a Sabalenka versus Coco Gauff final, but there is every chance that Elena Rybakina could replace the latter.

While Sabalenka was shining in Brisbane, her WTA rival Rybakina was doing the same at the 2025 United Cup.

READ MORE: Aryna Sabalenka shares why she was standing on her racket during the Brisbane International final

The world number six helped fire Kazakhstan all the way to the semi-finals before they eventually fell to Poland.

Rybakina has seemingly been inspired by her new coach Goran Ivanisevic, with the 25-year-old finding her feet at just the right time.

But it is her record against Sabalenka in Australia that should give her plenty of confidence ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season.

As per Tennis, following her Brisbane semi-final win over Mirra Andreeva, the world number one moved to 26-1 for wins in Australia since the start of 2023.

She also moved to 52-3 in sets, but intriguingly all three sets lost came against Rybakina, with her only loss coming against the Kazakhstan ace.

What is the head-to-head record between Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina?

Rybakina took two sets off Sabalenka to win their 2024 Brisbane final, having taken one off her rival in a 2023 Australian Open final defeat.

The pair have now met a total of 10 times on the WTA Tour, with the Belarusian boasting a narrow 6-4 record.

Rybakina is now in with a fine chance of closing that gap, having won their most recent meeting at the 2024 WTA Finals in November.

It is, of course, worth noting that the likes of Gauff and Iga Swiatek cannot be ruled out of contention for glory in Melbourne.

READ MORE: Novak Djokovic says what he’s already noticed about Elena Rybakina since Goran Ivanisevic started coaching her

Like Rybakina, they shone at the United Cup, with the American beating the Pole in the final to help secure victory for the USA.

Along with her impressive track record against Sabalenka in Australia, revenge should also be at the forefront of her mind given that 2023 Australian Open defeat.