Elena Rybakina arrived in Doha carrying the momentum of a second major title and a clear sense that the path to further success was familiar.

“I kind of knew the road,” Rybakina said at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open after her title run at the 2026 Australian Open. Her victory in Melbourne, achieved despite arriving with a cold, included wins over both No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek and returned her to No. 3 in the WTA rankings.

The world No. 3 traced that confidence back to her first Grand Slam triumph at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and the complicated aftermath of that win. Awarded no ranking points after the All England Club’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players, Rybakina noted the odd sense of not feeling fully recognised in the weeks that followed.

“I feel like actually I’m not the Wimbledon champion,” she said at the 2022 US Open. “I didn’t get this feeling to be No. 2 or actually achieve, because it’s still different treatment when you are Top 10 or Top 20. Even with the win of Wimbledon, it’s kind of different feeling.”

Reflecting on the two Slams, she added: “At Wimbledon, it was really not expected. I think I wasn’t really prepared that well,” and, of the Australian Open, “It was a lot of emotions, different ones, in Australia. I feel like it’s more of a job. I try to really prepare for each match differently. If I have time, we celebrate, but if we don’t, there’s a lot of tournaments ahead.”

Sitting atop the Race to the WTA Finals standings, Rybakina welcomed the security that comes with a major and a high ranking. “It’s a big advantage,” smiled Rybakina, who won the tournament last year after qualifying under the wire in the fall. The tour guarantees entry to major champions who finish the year inside the Top 20, effectively putting her on course for the season-ending championships in Riyadh.

Hopefully, this week can be as good as in Australia. But if not, we still have so many tournaments ahead… Elena Rybakina

A former finalist in Doha, she declined an extended break and emphasised process over pressure. “We’ll see how I’m going to feel here and how the matches will go,” said Rybakina, who is the No. 2 seed in Doha. “It’s good practice no matter what. We’ll still try to work on some things with the team. I don’t put too much pressure or expectations, that’s for sure. But I definitely want to do well and we’ll see how it’s going to go day by day.”

Carlos Alcaraz added the final piece to an already remarkable résumé by winning his first Australian Open title and, in the process, becoming the youngest man in tennis history to complete the Career Grand Slam.

The 22-year-old Spaniard defeated Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to claim the title. He had previously won the other three majors, twice each, and the victory in Melbourne sealed a milestone few players reach across a career.

Alcaraz’s achievement rewrote a long-standing record. The previous mark dated to 1938, when Don Budge, a slightly older 22 at the time, completed his set at Roland Garros. That span of nearly nine decades underlines how rare it is for a player so young to secure every Grand Slam.

The final in Melbourne showcased a resilient Alcaraz who recovered after dropping the first set 2-6. He responded with consecutive set wins and closed the match in four, producing the only Australian Open title that had been missing from his collection.

Beyond the immediate headline, the result confirms what the tournament results already suggested: Alcaraz has established himself among the elite of the sport by mastering all four major championships. Completing the Career Grand Slam at 22 will be a defining record in his rapid rise.

The significance of the moment is clear when placed against the history of the game. Few players have collected each major even once, and doing so at such a young age places Alcaraz in rare company. The Australian Open victory completes a set of accomplishments that, until now, the record books credited to much earlier generations.

For Alcaraz, the win in Melbourne is both a major title and a historical landmark, the final major he needed to finish a career sweep of the Grand Slams.

Elena Rybakina’s comeback in the Australian Open final began with a two-word instruction from her coach, Stefano Vukov. “More energy.” The Croatian’s brief command arrived when Rybakina was serving at 0-3 in the third set against Aryna Sabalenka and, by the match’s end, looked decisive.

The Kazakh had started aggressively, breaking in the opening game and dictating play with pace and depth. But as the second set reached 4-4 she began to show nerves, glanced toward her camp and was broken at 4-5. Her slide continued into the third as Sabalenka pushed to a 3-0 lead with heavy hitting and backhand winners.

After Vukov’s words, Rybakina’s tennis shifted. She served an ace at 40-30, held, then broke back for 2-3 and began to reclaim initiative. She moved forward more, hit with greater intent and forced abrupt momentum swings in rallies. “I’m happy that being down, I was able to calm myself down, not being frustrated anymore, and just focus on each point,” she said of the turnaround.

There were two critical moments that might have halted Rybakina’s run. Serving at 2-3 she faced a break point but held when Sabalenka missed a crosscourt attempt. In the next game Sabalenka, serving at 3-3 and down 15-40, saved one break with a service winner but then sent a forehand into the net on the next chance. Sabalenka finally showed visible frustration and slammed her racquet.

At 4-3 Rybakina held with a service winner. Serving for the title at 5-4 she produced a service winner at 30-30 and then an ace to seal the championship. “It’s incredible achievement,” Rybakina said of her second major title. “Super happy and proud. It was really tough battle. I didn’t expect to turn it around. Got some opportunities.”

Sabalenka reflected on the match with mixed feeling. On the one hand she joked that her coaches were trying “to avoid and escape me because they see that it’s not really healthy to be around me right now.” On the other, she said, “I don’t know if I have any regrets. Maybe I should have tried to be more aggressive on my serve, knowing that I have a break and put pressure on her, but she played incredible.”

Rybakina will return to a career-high No. 3 and is within striking distance of overtaking Iga Swiatek for No. 2 during February’s Middle East swing. “I have big goals,” says Rybakina, who will move up to No. 3 on Monday. “I’m going to keep on working. Let’s see what’s going to happen.”