American legend and former US Open champion Andy Roddick has made his stance clear on the criticism directed at Aryna Sabalenka following her loss to Elena Rybakina in the 2026 Australian Open final. The Belarusian suffered a three-set defeat to the Kazakh, once again falling short in the summit clash at Melbourne. Meanwhile, it marked the second Grand Slam title for Rybakina.
Andy Roddick Questions ‘Strange’ Criticism Surrounding Aryna Sabalenka Post-Australian Open Final Loss
Rybakina and Sabalenka had stormed through the 2026 Australian Open without dropping a set, but the challenge grew when they faced each other in the final. Rybakina, however, looked calm as she dictated the first set, eventually securing it 6-4. Sabalenka leaned on her serves and precise forehands in the second set and won it 6-4 to force a decider.
Sabalenka looked determined to secure the title, which narrowly eluded her last year, as she got off to a 3-0 lead in the third set. However, the Kazakh remained calm and clawed back from that deficit, finished the set and the match with an ace, and secured a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win in 2 hours, 18 minutes.
Former American player Roddick later shared his post-match analysis of the final on his YouTube channel. The 43-year-old countered criticism directed at Sabalenka, arguing that consistently reaching semifinals and finals means facing top-tier opponents, so close losses are inevitable. He credited Rybakina for seizing her chance and winning.
“Congrats to Rybakina — went out and earned a hard-fought victory. It’s strange because Sabalenka, people are going to say, ‘Oh, she is losing tight matches,’ and, like, Sinner lost a tight match. My first thought is, if you are in the semis or finals every time playing the best in that tournament or the best on earth all of the time, that’s kind of what happens. Rybakina just went out and won this,” he said.
Roddick also explained why Rybakina and Sabalenka’s summit clash felt like a men’s match.
“A couple of things that stood out: only three breaks of serve. It almost felt like a guys’ match, a little bit, right? Like someone got a break, and then they were able to hold on the whole time. It wasn’t as if every service game was at like 30 all. Best two servers in the game doing what? Holding serve a bunch,” he said.
He added that it’s hard to fault Sabalenka, as the match was decided by the finest margins
“I thought Sabalenka, it’s tough to criticize at all. These matches, when people are playing so well or just won at the tiniest of margins and like if maybe smothered a couple forehands in the third set, I think that’s the side that goes a little bit more than the other,” he added.
While the win has catapulted Rybakina back to the No. 3 spot in the WTA rankings, Sabalenka remains firmly atop with a margin of 3,000 points. Now it remains to be seen how Rybakina’s journey unfolds in the rest of the season, with the Australian Open triumph giving her much-needed momentum.
