Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her Australian Open title on Saturday after beating China’s Qinwen Zheng in straight sets.
The Belarusian second seed, who won 6-3 6-2, is the first woman to retain the Melbourne Park title since compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013.
Sabalenka proved too powerful for the 12th seed as she finished the match in 76 minutes to claim her second Grand Slam crown on Rod Laver Arena.
Zheng had reached her first Grand Slam final without meeting a seed after a host of players crashed out early on her side of the draw, and the gulf in class was quickly exposed.
Sabalenka became the fifth woman to win the Australian Open without dropping a set after Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Ash Barty.
Sabalenka is also the second player in the Open Era to win her first two Women’s Singles Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open after Azarenka.
She is the also the third player in the last 10 years to win the same Women’s Singles Major event for consecutive seasons after Serena Williams in Wimbledon (2015-2016) and Iga Swiatek at the Roland Garros (2022-2023).
Accoring to Opta, Sabalenka also became the second player in the last 20 years to win the Women's Singles Australian Open final without a single game dropped on serve after Serena Williams in 2007 against Maria Sharapova.
Zheng, the second Chinese player to qualify for a Grand Slam final and first since Li's title run here in 2014, will make her Top 10 debut in rankings on Monday at No.7, while Sabalenka will remain at No.2.