Top 10 seeds Ons Jabeur, Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari were all eliminated in a day of upsets in the Miami Open second round on Friday.

Qualifier Varvara Gracheva earned her first career top-five win by beating 2022 Wimbledon and US Open finalist Jabeur 6-2 6-2 in only 67 minutes.

Fifth seed Caroline Garcia also crashed out, losing 6-2 6-3 to 74th-ranked Sorana Cirstea, having also recently beaten the Frenchwoman at Indian Wells.

Bianca Andreescu came from a set down to beat seventh seed Maria Sakkari 5-7 6-3 6-4 in a match that lasted over three hours.

Andreescu displayed some of the form that saw her lift the 2019 US Open title, fighting back from a set down and proving composed in the big moments.

The Canadian, who is ranked 31st, will take on 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the third round.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka had few problems against Shelby Rogers, winning 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 17 minutes. Sabalenka will next face 31st seed Marie Bouzkova.

The 2023 Australian Open champion has won 65 main draw matches in WTA-1000 events, which equals Marion Bartoli and Ashleigh Barty at the 30th place since 2009 for the most wins at this level.

Indian Wells winner Elena Rybakina beat Anna Kalinskaya 7-5 4-6 6-3, and Petra Kvitova eased past compatriot Linda Noskova 6-3 6-0.

Ninth seed Belinda Bencic dropped just two games as she cruised past Leylah Fernandez 6-1 6-1, and will face Ekaterina Alexandrova next as the 18th seed needed three to get past Taylor Townsend.

Veronika Kudermetova was eliminated by Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 6-2, who goes up against Karolina Pliskova in round three after she eased past Wang Xinyu in straight sets.

Emma Raducanu was bundled out of the Miami Open in the first round by form US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in a three-set match that lasted two hours and 35 minutes on Wednesday.

The Briton, who won the US Open in 2021, went down 6-3 3-6 6-2 in a genuine tug-of-war against the 31st-ranked Canadian.

Andreescu sent down seven aces for the match, including four in the first set along with 12 winners as she claimed an early lead.

Raducanu responded with greater aggression, securing the crucial break in the eighth game, before serving out to level the contest.

But Andreescu showed composure and quality in the big points in the final set, winning the final four games to round out the victory, sealing a second-round clash with seventh seed Maria Sakkari.

Andreescu finished with 32 winners compared to Raducanu's 20, while the Briton committed 40 unforced errors.

World number 42 Shelby Rogers edged out USA compatriot Sloane Stephens in just under two hours, winning 6-4 3-6 6-2. Rogers will take on second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who is arguably the tournament favourite after top seed Iga Swiatek's withdrawal, in the next round.

Rogers was one of five Americans to progress, including 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin who defeated Australia's Storm Hunter 6-0 7-6 (7-5).

World number 35 Amanda Anisimova retired down 7-6 (7-5) 5-2 to countrywoman Madison Brengle.

Leylah Fernandez, the player whom Raducanu beat in the 2021 US Open final, advanced into the second round with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Lesia Tsurenko in 88 minutes.

Aryna Sabalenka received "hate" in the dressing room after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Sabalenka finished as runner-up at Indian Wells last week, losing to Elena Rybakina, who she defeated in the Australian Open final in January.

Born in Belarus, an ally of Russia, the 24-year-old revealed ahead of her Miami Open campaign that "weird conversations" had come from members of other players' teams, rather than her fellow pros.

"It was really tough for me because I've never faced that much hate in the locker room," she said. "There are a lot of haters on Instagram when you're losing matches, but in the locker room I've never faced that.

"I had some, not like fights, but I had some weird conversations with, not the girls, but with members of their team. It was tough. It was a tough period. But now it's getting better.

"It was really tough to understand that there's so many people who hate me for no reason. I did nothing."

Players from Russia and Belarus have been classed as neutral since the invasion, and were banned from last year's Wimbledon.

Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko pulled out of her match against Sabalenka at Indian Wells after suffering a panic attack following a conversation she had with WTA chief executive Steve Simon about tennis's response to the invasion.

World number one Iga Swiatek had called for greater support for Ukrainian players as a result of the conflict but another Belarusian, Victoria Azarenka, disagreed.

"There are certain players that have different feelings and behaviours. Overall, I don't necessarily share the same opinion as Iga does," Azarenka said.

"I'd encourage her to look at the things that have been done before she makes comments. As a player council member I'm happy to provide the facts. That would be a more appropriate way to have that conversation."

Elena Rybakina is targeting consistency and staying fit over becoming world number one, for now.

Rybakina defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (13-11) 6-4 on Sunday to clinch the Indian Wells Open title.

It brought up a fourth singles title of her career, her maiden WTA 1000 trophy and her first success since winning Wimbledon last year.

Rybakina overcame Iga Swiatek in the last four, making her the first player since Garbine Muguruza at the 2017 Western & Southern Open to beat the world number one and two in the semi-finals and final of a single tournament.

The Kazakh will rise to world number seven after her success in the Californian desert, but when asked if the top of the rankings was her next target, Rybakina told Amazon Prime: "I'll try but first of all I just want to have the consistency, the most important thing is to stay healthy because it's still the beginning of the year.

"If I continue like this I have all the chance to be higher in the top 10, we'll see how it's going to go."

She added: "It feels amazing. I didn't expect two sets, I thought it would be a three-set battle. It wasn't easy, it was a bit windy, I lost the two games, I was getting nervous, but I managed to sort it out."

The two games Rybakina referred to came in the second set, when she went from 5-2 up to 5-4 before regaining her composure.

Rybakina had also come out on top in an almighty tussle in the first-set tie-break, with Sabalenka unable to then rediscover her best form during the second set.

Sunday's success marked Rybakina's first victory over Sabalenka – who she lost to in the final of this season's Australian Open – in five attempts.

Though Sabalenka is not planning on losing another one, as the Belarusian comically interjected during Rybakina's post-match on-court interview.

"I'll make sure it was the last one," Sabalenka quipped after Rybakina had explained "it was the first time it went my way" in a meeting with the 24-year-old.

"It's been always a pleasure to play against you and always the toughest battle," Rybakina continued.

"Hopefully I'll be back next year to defend this result."

Sabalenka was courteous in defeat, saying: "First of all Elena I want to congratulate you and your team on another amazing week. Hopefully we'll play in many more finals, hopefully next time it'll go to me!"

However, she was already focusing on putting the defeat behind her, with the Miami Open next up.

"For me it's quite easy. I think it's gonna stay in my head until tomorrow, and tomorrow we are flying to Miami and I will forget this one," she told reporters.

"The thing is helping me to stay focused and to keep winning is just to focus on myself and focus on the game and focus on things what I have to do on court to keep winning.

"This one was tough, especially in the finals, it's always tough to lose. You're one step to the trophy and you lose it. This one is really tough. But she's a great player."

The last five WTA titles at Indian Wells have now been won by players yet to turn 24, while Rybakina became the 25th female player to win the title.

Elena Rybakina gained a measure of revenge for her Australia Open final defeat as she beat Aryna Sabalenka to claim the Indian Wells Open title.

Rybakina lost 4-6 6-3 6-4 to Sabalenka in Melbourne in January, but the world number 10, who will move up three places in the WTA rankings now, came out on top 7-6 (13-11) 6-4 on Sunday to clinch her first triumph at a WTA 1000 tournament.

It marks a fourth singles title of Rybakina's career, and her first since her maiden grand slam success at Wimbledon last year. She had not beaten Sabalenka in four previous attempts.

Having defeated Iga Swiatek in the last four, Rybakina is the first player to defeat the world number one and two in the semi-finals and final of a tournament since Garbine Muguruza at the 2017 Western & Southern Open.

Ten double faults marred Sabalenka's first set, though the Belarusian initially nosed ahead by claiming the first break of serve in the fifth game – albeit a shanked forehand that flew over Rybakina's head had more than a touch of fortune about it.

Rybakina broke back but saw a set point go begging at 6-5 up. A remarkable tussle followed in the tie-break, Sabalenka earning a set point with a sublime winner before a wild double-fault and a rash backhand gifted her opponent a chance.

Yet Rybakina too double-faulted as neither player was able to find the composure needed to get themselves ahead until, at the fifth time of asking, the eventual champion held her nerve.

Perhaps drained by her first-set exploits, Sabalenka – who was evidently emotional when she returned to the court after a short break – offered no resistance as Rybakina broke her with ease in the first game of the second set.

She did make Rybakina fend off two break points, and then saved two herself, in the fourth and fifth games, though a double break saw the Kazakh move to within a game of victory.

Sabalenka's resolve returned, the world number two reeling off eight of the next nine points to drag herself back to 5-4, yet Rybakina gathered herself on her next serve.

A cool forehand teed up match point, which was taken at the first opportunity when Sabalenka clipped a return straight into the net.

Elena Rybakina is through to her second final of the year after upsetting world number one Iga Swiatek 6-2 6-2 in Friday's Indian Wells Open semi-final.

Rybakina, 25, added to her terrific recent head-to-head record against the 21-year-old Polish superstar, now with three consecutive straight sets victories since December.

The reigning Wimbledon champion, who became Kazakhstan's first grand slam winner, was all over Swiatek's serve from the jump.

The top seed ended up winning just 42 per cent (18-of-43) of her total service points, with Rybakina converting all five of her break point opportunities.

After taking the opening frame, Rybakina slammed the door shut by running out to a 5-0 lead in the second, hitting five aces in the set while Swiatek had just one for the match.

Rybakina will next face world number two Aryna Sabalenka in the decider after the Belarusian made similar light work of world number seven Maria Sakkari.

Sabalenka, who has dropped only one set en route to the final, needed just 85 minutes to advance 6-2 6-3. She created 10 break point opportunities compared to Sakkari's four, with the Greek talent not able to pull another rabbit out of the hat after four consecutive three-set victories.

It will be the sixth overall meeting between Rybakina and Sabalenka, and a rematch from the Australian Open final, when Sabalenka took it 4-6 6-3 6-4 to extend her head-to-head advantage to 4-1.

Maria Sakkari prioritised a pedicure after earning a shot at Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells Open semi-finals.

Thursday was to be a recovery and re-setting day for Greek Sakkari, one of the stars of the Netflix 'Break Point' series, who is through to her third semi-final of the year.

She booked a last-four spot thanks to a stunning fightback from a set and a break down to Petra Kvitova, but Sakkari's efforts this week in California have left her with bleeding toes.

It is hardly surprising, considering she has taken a long route through to the semi-finals, reeling off four consecutive three-set wins.

Sakkari has lost the first set in three of those four matches but found a way to battle back, but she will want to start strongly against a dialled-in Sabalenka.

After coming through 4-6 7-5 6-1 against Kvitova, Sakkari said in an on-court interview: "I need a pedicure because my feet are bleeding so badly."

Asked about that comment later, she said in a press conference: "It's just my nails. It's not ideal, but nothing bad, like I can properly play and run and everything, but it's not nice."

It sounds far from pleasant, yet Sakkari fights on, aware that despite not playing her top-level tennis so far this fortnight, resilience has pulled her through.

"It is strange, but at the same time, I'm just telling myself, look, you're not playing your best tennis and you're still winning and beating amazing players," Sakkari said.

"By just surviving and just finding ways, eventually I'm sure that my game is going to get better. I really want to see how it's gonna be when I will start feeling good with my game.

"But of course I don't want to say that like I was playing s*** and I won. That's not the case. That's also very bad for the opponent."

Considering Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon champion and a 29-time singles title winner on tour, Sakkari ranked Wednesday's win as one to log alongside her finest victories.

"For me coming back against her, now that she's playing good, now that she has beaten so many good players, it's a bloody good win," Sakkari said. "The fact I found a way was one of the best comebacks of my life."

Sakkari trails 4-3 in the career head-to-head against Sabalenka despite winning their last two encounters, both at the WTA Finals in each of the past two seasons.

They have not faced each other since Sabalenka became a first-time grand slam champion in Melbourne at the start of the year.

Sakkari was runner-up at Indian Wells 12 months ago, losing to Iga Swiatek in the final, and she has designs on beating Sabalenka to earn another crack at the title match.

Asked about the Belarusian, Sakkari said: "She's an amazing player. I knew that she was gonna win a grand slam. It actually came, and I was very happy for her.

"She's very fun to be around. It's going to be very, very tough, because she's feeling the ball really well."

Australian champion Aryna Sabalenka made light work of sixth seed Coco Gauff in a dominant straight-sets win to clinch her spot in the Indian Wells Open semi-finals on Wednesday.

Sabalenka improved her 2023 season record to 16-1 with a 6-4 6-0 win over the 19-year-old American in only 65 minutes.

The Belarusian will face seventh seed Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals after the Greek edged out 15th seed Petra Kvitova in three sets in the evening quarter-final.

Sabalenka will be tough to beat, however, maintaining her strong season form against Gauff who had little answers despite boasting a 3-1 head-to-head record coming into the clash.

The second seed crushed 18 winners compared to Gauff's 12, while she committed 14 fewer unforced errors across the match.

Sabalenka opened up a 2-0 lead in the first set and maintained that buffer to take the opening frame, before a 25-minute second-set bagel underlined her dominance.

"I feel a little bit different on the court this year," Sabalenka said after the match. "I feel like I'm a little bit different player. I wasn't really focusing on the last matches against her. I was focused on myself."

Sakkari came from behind to defeat two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova 4-6 7-5 6-1 in two hours and 17 minutes.

The Greek, who finished as last year's Indian Wells Open runner-up, was broken twice in the first set and dropped serve again in the opening game of the second frame, before finding a way to flip the match on its head.

Sakkari broke back for 3-3 in the second set, winning 12 of the final 15 games for victory in an impressive turnaround. All four of Sakkari's matches in Indian Wells this fortnight have gone to three sets.

Top seed Iga Swiatek will be hard top stop in her title defence at the Indian Wells Open after a straight-sets thrashing over Emma Raducanu in Tuesday's last 16.

The Polish world number one eased to victory 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 25 minutes over the 2021 US Open champion, who has enjoyed an improved run this week in California.

Swiatek offered few weaknesses in a strong disciplined display, converting four of 10 break points, including three in a one-way second set.

The three-time major winner won 88 per cent on her first serve while she was impressive on return and able to win the longer rallies. Swiatek hit 22-9 winners while Raducanu made 22-14 unforced errors.

Swiatek will take on Romania's Sorana Cirstea in the quarter-finals, after she upset fifth seed Caroline Garcia 6-4 4-6 7-5 in two hours and 24 minutes.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina also progressed in that part of the draw, setting up a last-eight clash with unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova.

Rybakina won 6-3 6-0 over qualifier Varvara Gracheva in a similarly strong performance, needing only one hour and 21 minutes.  Muchova beat compatriot Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 in two hours and 37 minutes.

Third seed Jessica Pegula was the major casualty of the day's play, going down 6-2 3-6 7-6 (13-11) to 16th seed Petra Kvitova in a dramatic two-hour-and-16-minutes clash.

Pegula had opened up a 5-3 third-set lead and squandered a match point on serve, before two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova squared it up at 5-5. Kvitova, however, was broken immediately to offer Pegula another chance to serve out the match again, which she was unable to take.

The American generated another three match points in the tie-break but could not convert before the Czech eventually prevailed on her own fourth match point, with the deciding set lasting one hour and 12 minutes.

Kvitova will face seventh seed Maria Sakkari in the quarters after she triumphed in a lengthy clash 6-4 5-7 6-3 over Karolina Pliskova, lasting two hours and 43 minutes.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka also needed three sets to beat Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 2-6 6-4 in two hours and four minutes. Krejcikova had been responsible for Sabalenka's lone loss this season, in a 15-1 year.

Sabalenka, who won this year's Australian Open, will face sixth seed Coco Gauff who defeated Rebecca Peterson 6-3 1-6 6-4. Gauff won the last four games for victory, having trailed 4-2 in the deciding set.

Third seed Jessica Pegula rallied back from a set down for the second straight match to advance into the final 16 with a 3-6 6-4 7-5 victory over 26th seed Anastasia Potapova.

Potapova won the first set in 39 minutes, claiming the only break of the frame in the sixth game, but Pegula responded by breaking immediately in the second.

Despite squaring the match up, the American trailed 3-1 in the third set, only to fight back again and triumph in two hours and 17 minutes.

Pegula will face 15th seed Petra Kvitova after she won a seesawing three-set contest over 24th seed Jelena Ostapenko, 0-6 6-0 6-4.

Ostapenko won the first six games, before Kvitova won the next 10, only for the Latvian to hit back and claim the next four, squaring up the deciding set at 4-4. But two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova held her nerve and won the final two games for victory.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka progressed to the final 16 via walkover after her third-round opponent Lesia Tsurenko withdrew.

The 2023 Australian Open champion will take on 2021 French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova after she toppled Wang Xin 6-2 6-7 (1-7) 6-2.

Seventh seed Maria Sakkari secured victory in a two-and-a-half-hour third-round clash with Anhelina Kalinina, winning 3-6 6-2 6-4.

Two-time major runner-up Karolina Pliskova won 6-1 7-5 over Veronika Kudermetova, progressing into the last eight to face Sakkari.

Sixth seed Coco Gauff, who turns 19 on Monday, eased past 54th-ranked fellow teenager Linda Noskova 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 19 minutes.

Sweden's Rebecca Peterson continued her resurgent form with a 3-6 6-3 6-1 win over Jil Teichman, setting up a clash with Gauff.

Aryna Sabalenka showed exactly why she is ranked second in the world as she dominated her opening match of the Indian Wells Open on Friday against Evgeniya Rodina.

Belarus' Sabalenka needed just 66 minutes to defeat the Russian 6-2 6-0, taking advantage of her first-round bye to book her spot in the third round against Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko.

Tsurenko had to come from behind against the in-form Donna Vekic, fresh off her Monterrey Open title last week, but that big effort may have had the Croatian with heavy legs as she ran out of steam 2-6 6-2 6-2.

It was a strong day for the Ukranians as 27th seed Anhelina Kalinina beat the Czech Republic's Linda Fruhvirtova 4-6 6-4 7-5, and she will next face Greece's Maria Sakkari.

Sakkari, the seventh seed, had to deal with adversity after a poor first set against Shelby Rogers, coming back to win 2-6 6-4 6-0.

Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic lost her Swiss showdown against Jil Teichmann 3-6 6-3 6-3, while Veronika Kudermetova got the better of her Russian compatriot Anna Blinkova 6-3 6-4.

The second-highest ranked American in the field, Coco Gauff, had no issues dispatching Spain's Cristina Bucsa 6-2 6-4. But it was tougher work for America's top hope Jessica Pegula as she was pushed all the way by recent Merida Open champion Camila Giorgi, before prevailing 3-6 6-1 6-2.

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka lost for the first time in 14 matches, and Coco Gauff set up a semi-final clash with Iga Swiatek at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday.

Sabalenka fought back from a set down to end the title defence of Jelena Ostapenko a day earlier, but she came up short against Barbora Krejcikova as her Czech opponent overcame a tough first set to run out a 0-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 victor.

Sabalenka, playing in her first event since claiming a maiden grand slam title in Melbourne, romped into the lead by breaking Krejcikova's serve three times to go a set ahead.

But the world number two was pegged back in the second as Krejcikova battled to force a tie-break, which she dominated to level the match.

Krejcikova then completed the shock victory in style, breaking the second seed twice in the final set before clinching the win on her third match point to end Sabalenka's run of 13 straight triumphs.

Karolina Muchova's withdrawal due to an abdominal injury means it is Jessica Pegula who will face Krejcikova in the semi-finals on Friday.

After Swiatek reached the final four by virtue of Karolina Pliskova pulling out because of an illness, Gauff set up a sixth meeting with the world number one by beating Madison Keys 6-2 7-5.

In those five previous clashes between the pair, Gauff is yet to win a set.

But after cruising past Keys, doing so by converting four of five break points and winning 90 per cent of her service games, Gauff is confident of improving her dismal record against Swiatek on Friday.

"All five times, I did something wrong," Gauff said. "To be honest, she's playing great tennis and there's a reason she's world number one. 

"Tomorrow I have no pressure. I just have to play my game. I definitely think I've gotten better since the last time I played her.

"Ranking is just a number at the end of the day. You just have to step on the court believing you can win, and that's what I'm going to do tomorrow."

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a set down to end the title defence of Jelena Ostapenko at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Sabalenka, playing in her first event since claiming a maiden grand slam title in Melbourne, recovered from falling behind in style to win 2-6 6-1 6-1 on Wednesday.

Ostapenko won the tournament last year and looked to be in with a chance of extending her winning streak in Dubai to seven matches.

But Sabalenka launched a strong recovery to reach the quarter-finals and extend a stunning run to start the season to 13 consecutive wins.

The second seed tightened up her game in the second and third sets and will face either Petra Kvitova or Barbora Krejcikova in the last eight.

Sabalenka had been broken three times by Ostapenko in the opening set, but she only had to fend off one break point from there.

"In the first set, she played unbelievable tennis and I couldn't do anything," Sabalenka said.

"I was looking at my team asking like, 'What can I do?', but somehow, I turned around this game and started playing really incredible tennis. 

"She plays really fast, deep balls, and I tried to stay super low, stay focused, and try to put more balls in than she did. I'm so happy that I did it."

A lower back injury for Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina robbed supporters of what had looked like being a thrilling matchup against Coco Gauff.

The withdrawal of Rybakina meant Gauff progressed via a walkover and will face fellow American Madison Keys next.

Keys and Gauff have played twice before, winning one match apiece.

It was Gauff who won their most recent encounter in the third round of the US Open last year.

Top seed Iga Swiatek had earlier booked her place in the last eight, with the Pole's latest dominant showing in Dubai earning praise on social media from Andy Murray.

And news followed that Karolina Pliskova, her semi-final opponent, had been forced to withdraw.

Swiatek benefited from a walkover in the quarter-finals en route to winning the Qatar Open last week and is now only two wins away from another title.

Iga Swiatek continued her ruthless form as she progressed with ease to the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships third round on Tuesday.

The world number one cruised to a 6-1 6-1 triumph over 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, just three days after winning the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha.

That marked Swiatek's 41st main-draw victory in WTA 1000 events in just her 53rd outing, only Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova (52 each) have won more than 40 such matches in fewer attempts.

The 21-year-old has won her last 35 hard-court matches against opponents ranked outside the world's top 30, though Swiatek said she had to adapt against Canada's Fernandez.

"It wasn't that easy for sure. It was much tougher than the score said," said Swiatek, who will look to make the fourth round for the first time in Dubai when she faces Liudmila Samsonova.

"In the second set ... I needed to go a level up. I didn't have much time to get used to the conditions, but I'm just happy I could play solid tennis."

Jessica Pegula, the third favourite at the tournament, defeated Viktoriya Tomova 6-2 5-7 6-1 to set up a third-round battle with Ana Bogdan, who overcame Shelby Rogers 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

Fifth seed Coco Gauff coasted past Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a 6-0 6-4 victory, teeing up a meeting with Elena Rybakina, who slammed six aces in a 7-5 6-2 defeat of Marie Bouzkova.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Rybakina at this year's Australian Open final, made light work of lucky loser Lauren Davis in a straight-sets rout as she claimed her 12th straight win in 2023.

Dubai's defending champion Jelena Ostapenko will be the next challenge for Sabalenka after defeating 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova for her seventh straight win at the event.

Barbora Krejcikova saved four match points en route to a 6-4 4-6 7-5 win over seventh seed Daria Kasatkina and will meet Karolina Pliskova next after she downed sixth favourite Maria Sakkari in straight sets.

Belinda Bencic and Marta Kostyuk played out the match of the day as the former claimed a 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph, with that clash taking three hours and 27 minutes – the second-longest on the WTA Tour this year.

Aryna Sabalenka's comeback in the Australian Open final sent her into the grand slam record books. 

Sabalenka beat last year's Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4 in Melbourne on Saturday.

That saw the fifth seed clinch her maiden grand slam title, and become the fifth woman in the Open Era to achieve the feat via a comeback in the final.

Sabalenka joined Nancy Richy, Jelena Ostapenko, Sofia Kenin and, ironically, Rybakina on that list.

The Belarusian hit 17 aces against Rybakina, trailing only Serena Williams (18 against Maria Sharapova in the 2015 final) for the highest amount of aces in a women's singles showpiece match at Melbourne Park.

Sabalenka has now won the title in three of the four tournaments in which she has faced Rybakina (Wuhan 2019, Abu Dhabi 2021 and the Australian Open 2023).

She is the 29th different woman in the Open Era to secure the title at the Australian Open and the 58th women's player in the Open Era to win a major.