The season’s first Grand Slam has a new champion in Elena Rybakina. She edged past Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena to lift the Australian Open trophy and claim the second major title of her career. While the win itself was a statement, it was what followed (after Rybakina carried the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup to the interview area), that quietly caught the attention of many.

During the post-match press conference, Rybakina sat with her hard-won Australian Open title when broadcaster and former player Casey Dellacqua, sitting on the interview panel, instinctively reached to adjust the trophy for the camera. She immediately stopped herself.

A few moments later, Dellacque said, “Sorry, I’m not allowed to touch the trophy, but are you okay to um, pull it towards me a little bit more? Sorry, I’m not allowed to touch it, and we need to see all of you. So, sorry.” Fellow commentator Todd Woodbridge, also on the panel, quickly understood, saying, “It’s not because Casey wants to hold it and hold it. We just want to see our new champion.”

Often, the trophy is kept for public display and reserved for the winner and the officials. But the public can’t touch the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. So, Rybakina leaned forward and gently slid it to the side to make herself visible to the broadcasting cameras.

Well, the Kazakh put on quite a display of performance against her Belarusian opponent. And she was overwhelmed with positive emotions following this Grand Slam win.

Elena Rybakina goes candid following Australian Open victory

Elena Rybakina became the newly crowned Australian Open champion, and this victory also healed the heartbreak she suffered back during the 2023 final when Aryna Sabalenka took the win. However, during the post-match on-court interview, she had no personal grudge against her competitor.

“It’s hard to find the words but I want to congratulate Aryna. She’s had amazing results for a couple of years and I hope we’re going to play many more finals together. I know it’s tough, but I just hope that we are going play many more finals together. Of course, congrats to your team for all the great improvements that you’ve done,” the Kazakh said.

Apart from acknowledging the fact that she will meet Sabalenka on various other occasions in the future, she also thanked her team, saying, “And of course I would like to say thank you to my team, without you it wouldn’t be possible, really. We had a lot of things going on and I’m really glad we achieved this result. Thank you to all of you, hopefully we can keep on going strong this year.”

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With her season starting with a Grand Slam title, Rybakina will be looking for the exact glory when another opportunity arises.