Legendary status eludes Sabalenka after familiar final failure

World No 1 has won four and lost four grand slam finals but manner of some of those defeats raises questions

- Tumaini Carayol

Aryna Sabalenka threw away a 3-0 lead in the third set in Melbourne

An hour after another excruciating loss in a significant final, Aryna Sabalenka was asked about her record in grand slam finals. She responded by lamenting the fact that she had lost the majority of those she had played.

She was mistaken. Her bitter defeat by Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final on Saturday left her with a 4-4 record in major finals, a poor but not ruinous record. However, considering how many great opportunities she has let pass her by over the past few years, it made perfect sense that, in Sabalenka’s mind, she is already a dozen defeats down.

The Belarusian continues to compile a fascinating career. So few players in the history of the sport have put themselves in position to compete for the biggest titles as frequently as Sabalenka. She has reached five of the past six grand slam finals and eight overall.

In her past 13 grand slam tournaments, she has reached 12 semifinals. The only time she failed to make the final two rounds of a slam was when she was dragged down by food poisoning in the quarterfinals of the 2024 French Open. Still, she took Mirra Andreeva to three sets.