Elena Rybakina kisses the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Aryna Sabalenka to win the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on Saturday. (AP photo)

MELBOURNE, Australia — The extreme nervous tension. The adrenalin. Elena Rybakina felt it all as she stood at the baseline on match point, relying on one of the best tools at her disposal to clinch the Australian Open title.

“Even maybe (my) face didn’t show, but inside it was a lot of emotions,” Rybakina recalled of that ace, cooly and matter-of-factly served, that gave top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka no chance of extending the contest.

The 26-year-old Rybakina clearly isn’t one for euphoric, jubilant celebrations, as tennis rivals and observers noted in her run to the Wimbledon title in 2022.

After ending any lingering doubts that she’d ever be able to add another major title with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win Saturday over the world No. 1, her reserved and understated reaction was again a defining feature.

Expect to see more of it — the winning part, not demonstrative celebrations. It’s her secret to success.

Within three months, she has won the WTA Finals, beating Sabalenka to collect a record $5.2 million in prize money, and, more importantly in tennis terms, added another of the sport’s four most treasured trophies.

The No. 5 seed has shrugged off any doubt that she’s a top contender for the biggest titles with a run that included second-week victories over No. 1 Sabalenka, a four-time major winner and four-time runner-up, No. 2 Iga ÅšwiÄ…tek, a six-time major winner, and No. 6-ranked Jessica Pegula.

“Of course, they’re tough opponents, and they have great results, and for so long they are at the top and its stable,” she said. “Yeah, it’s a lot of tough matches I had here — I’m glad that the opportunities which I was getting during the match, I managed to take it.”

She’ll return to No. 3 in the rankings next week.

Recent rise

Rybakina’s resurgence is coming off a 2025 season that was interrupted by the monthslong suspension of her coach by the WTA and up-and-down form.

Rybakina has been working with Stefano Vukov since 2019. Most recently, she said, clear communication has been the key in preparation and competition.

Her support team give her the information — there’s an almost unending stream of technical and tactical advice from the coach’s box during her matches — and she processes it in real time and works it out on court.

Her first real interactions with anyone other than Sabalenka after the victory were with her support team in the courtside seating.

First she hugged Vukov. Then, one-by-one, she hugged the other three.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis