2026 Australian Open Finals Preview

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As the 2026 Australian Open comes to a close, the championship matches should deliver entertainment at the highest on both the men’s and women’s sides. The finals are set with Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan taking center stage on Saturday and a showdown between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia on Sunday.

Heading into Saturday, Sabalenka holds the slight edge over Rybakina with eight wins in the 14 matches they have played in their head-to-head. However, Rybakina won the last matchup at the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh. They have not faced each other in a Grand Slam since the 2023 Australian Open final in which Sabalenka came out on top in a close three sets.

Neither woman has dropped a set in each of their six matches en route to the final and have been red hot since the start of the season. Sabalenka is currently riding an 11-match win streak, while Rybakina has only lost one match in her last 20. Sabalenka is seeking her second consecutive major title after winning the 2025 US Open, and Rybakina is looking to capture her second career Grand Slam title.

Last year, Djokovic defeated Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Now, they will face each other in their third Grand Slam final, the previous two at Wimbledon. Both Djokovic and Alcaraz faced grueling five-setters in the semis to reach this year’s final.

Alcaraz came back from the brink of defeat to earn his spot in the Sunday championship after beating Alexander Zverev in five hours and 27 minutes, the longest semifinal match in Australian Open history. Djokovic also endured a four-hour, five-set match against Jannik Sinner, who was looking to defend his 2025 title.

Alcaraz is chasing a piece of history on Sunday. If he lifts the trophy, he will be the youngest man to complete a Career Grand Slam at the age of just 22. The person currently holding that record is compatriot, Rafael Nadal, who accomplished it at the age of 24.

In addition to Alcaraz, Djokovic is also after a record of his own. His last major win was the 2023 US Open where he tied Margaret Court to hold the most Grand Slams as a male in the Open Era. Should he win on Sunday, he will be the only player in history to hold 25 Grand Slam titles.

At the beginning of the season, Alcaraz said, “It is always the main goal for me to complete a Career Grand Slam, Calendar Grand Slam… So, it’s going to be great.”

This will be Djokovic’s 11^th Australian Open final. He has never lost in an Australian Open final in any of the appearances he has made, a tournament where he has won more Grand Slam titles than at any other major.

“I’m lost for words right now,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “It feels surreal, to be honest. Playing over four hours, almost 2 a.m. The level of intensity and the quality of tennis was extremely high. I knew that was the only way for me to have a chance to win tonight.”