On Saturday, January 31, the Australian Open women's tournament with a total prize pool of 77 million US dollars ended with a sensation on the courts of Melbourne, in which Ukrainian Elina Svitolina reached the semifinals.
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In the decisive match, the Odessa-based player, the world's number one Arina Sobolenko from Belarus, lost in three sets to Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan (5th in the WTA ranking) — 4:6, 6:4, 4:6, failing to become a three-time Australian Open champion. At the same time, the Belarusian was leading in the decisive game — 3:0!
As you know, the Lukashenko supporter previously won in Melbourne in 2023 and 2024, but lost in the 2025 final to American Madison Keys. The score in personal meetings was 8:7 in favor of Arina, who upset Elena in the 2023 AusOpen final.
The triumph in Australia brought Moscow native Rybakina, who previously won Wimbledon 2022, 2 million 864 thousand US dollars in “dirty” money, Sobolenko will receive 1 million 483 thousand 500 dollars. In the updated WTA ranking, the Belarusian, despite the fiasco in the final, will remain at the top, and the tennis player from Kazakhstan will rise to third position.
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— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 31, 2026
Previously, “FACTS” reported that Arina Sobolenko has a new boyfriend, her ex committed suicide.
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