Sabalenka: "I am very upset with myself, I gave my best"

Raquel Bermúdez Rodríguez | 31 Jan 2026 | 13.21

Sabalenka: "I am very upset with myself, I did my best." Photo: Getty

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Clearly hurt, Aryna Sabalenka appeared sad on the court immediately after being defeated in the third set of the Australian Open 2026 final against Elena Rybakina. The Belarusian, world number one, even led by 3-0 in that decisive set in Melbourne but couldn't secure the victory.

Minutes after leaving Rod Laver Arena, Aryna Sabalenka expressed her emotions in the press conference, where she remained as sincere as always. The world number one spoke to the media about the key moments of the match against Rybakina, as well as explaining what she regrets.

"She played an incredible match, and I gave my all. I fought until the last point. I had my chances. I feel like I missed a couple of shots, but well, that's tennis. Today you lose, tomorrow you win. I hope to be more of a winner than a loser this season. I hope and pray for that. It was very aggressive tennis throughout the match, and I feel that at 0-3 she had nothing to lose, so she stepped in and played incredible points.

I don't know if I regret anything. Perhaps I should have tried to be more aggressive with my serve, knowing I had a break and putting pressure on her, but she played incredibly. I made a couple of unforced errors that I regret. Great tennis from her, maybe not so smart on my part, but as I say, today I am the loser," Aryna said.

Sabalenka explains why she is upset after losing the Australian Open 2026

"I was very upset with myself because once again, I had opportunities. I played very well up to a certain point, and then I couldn't withstand the aggressiveness she showed on the court today. I was very upset with myself, but I believe that overall, I played great tennis here in Australia. Even in this final, I feel like I played very well. I fought. I gave my best, and today she played better. I will talk to the team. Now they try to avoid me and stay away because they see that it's not healthy to be near me right now."

Sabalenka's evolution compared to last season

"I feel like I lost most of the Grand Slam finals I played. I take each loss individually because, obviously, they were almost always against different players, and I had different issues during the match, different errors. Some were great matches; I played amazingly. So I guess I take it individually. As for the level, the decisions I made, and the mindset I had throughout the battle, I was still there, ready to fight, knowing it wouldn't be handed to me easily. Overall, I improved a lot in that aspect, and still lost, but it's okay. I feel like I'm on the right track."