Two words of advice—"More energy"—was all Elena Rybakina needed to turn AO final around

Elena Rybakina’s coach, Stefano Vukov, may have uttered the two most effective words in tennis-instruction history on Saturday.

“More energy.”

That’s what Vukov told Rybakina she needed when she was serving at 0-3 in the third set to Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final. The Croatian is normally a man of many words, but in this case less was more. His command may have sounded exceedingly simple, but it was perfectly timed and right on the money.

At that moment, all the energy seemed to have gone out of Rybakina for good. She had started the match with a bang, breaking Sabalenka in her opening service game and ambushing her with the pace and precision of all of her shots. But at 4-4 in the second set, with the finishing line and the trophy coming in view, she began to flash nervous glances toward her camp. At 4-5, those nervous glances turned to nervous swings, and she was broken.

Read: Rybakina joins rare company by beating No. 1 and No. 2 en route to AO title

Rybakina’s collapse continued through the first three games of the third. Sabalenka rifled a backhand winner to close out a 16-shot rally. She broke for 2-0 with another backhand winner. She held off a break point to get to 3-0, and reached 30-30 on Rybakina’s next service game. The top seed and two-time Australian Open champ seemed to have weathered the storm. After several over-emotional Grand Slam final losses, Sabalenka had done what she set out to do: Stay calm in the face of adversity.

That’s when Vukov intervened. The results were immediate. Rybakina threw down an ace for 40-30, held serve, and broke back for 2-3. From then on, she moved forward, hit harder, and wrested control of the rallies back from a stunned Sabalenka. The energy shift was palpable. And permanent.

“I’m happy that being down, I was able to calm myself down, not being frustrated anymore, and just focus on each point,” Rybakina said of her third-set turnaround.

This battle of the six-footers was always going to be filled with hard-hit balls, short points, and abrupt momentum shifts. Whoever could do the most damage with either the serve, the return, or the first rally shot was going to have the advantage. Rybakina began on the front foot, and stayed there through the first set and a half. Sabalenka fought back and put Rybakina on her heels late in the second set, and remained on the offensive until 3-0 in third. Finally, Rybakina, spurred by Vukov’s words, caught up and kept her nose in front down the homestretch.

It was really tough battle. I didn’t expect to turn it around. Got some opportunities. Elena Rybakina

There were two moments when Sabalenka might have stopped Rybakina’s late run cold. The first came with Rybakina serving at 2-3. Sabalenka reached 30-40, break point. Rybakina missed a first serve, and kicked her second ball to Sabalenka’s backhand. Sabalenka had been powering that shot for down-the-line winners all match. This time she chose to go crosscourt and missed it just wide. Rybakina held.

The second match-deciding moment came in the next game, with Sabalenka serving at 3-3. Down 15-40, she saved one break with a service winner. If she could save the next, she might slow Rybakina and bring the match to neutral. Sabalenka got the forehand she wanted, in the middle of the court…and drilled it into the net.

Soon after, she finally did lose her composure and slammed her racquet. She knew what it meant to cede control to a server like Rybakina. At 4-3, Rybakina held with a service winner. Serving for the title at 5-4, with the score 30-30 and nerves creeping back in, she hammered another service winner to reach championship point, and an ace to win it.

“It’s incredible achievement,” Rybakina said of her second major title. “Super happy and proud. It was really tough battle. I didn’t expect to turn it around. Got some opportunities.”

Three years ago, Rybakina lost to Sabalenka in the final. She said she learned from what she had watched her opponent do that day.

“I remember that she stepped in,” Rybakina said. “She went for her shots. She was serving really well, and I think she was even risking a little bit because the second serve was going almost as first.”

“I knew that today if I get a chance to lead that I will need to try also kind of some risky shots and just go for it. Not wait for any mistakes or even get to the long rallies.”

When Sabalenka won that title, her first at a Slam, in 2023, she may have envisioned many more to come. And she has has won three, while also taking over the No. 1 ranking. But she has also lost four major finals, all in three sets, in matches where she was the solid favorite.

As usual in these moments, Sabalenka was a swirl of emotions.

On the one hand, she joked that her coaching team was trying “to avoid and escape me because they see that it’s not really healthy to be around me right now.”

On the other hand, she thought she played well, and credited Rybakina.

“I don't know if I have any regrets,” Sabalenka said. “Maybe I should have tried to be more aggressive on my serve, knowing that I have a break and put pressure on her, but she played incredible.”

“Great tennis from her. Maybe not so smart for me, but as I say, today I’m a loser, maybe tomorrow I’m a winner.”

Last year at Roland Garros, Sabalenka melted down in the wind against Coco Gauff. This wasn’t like that. Today she played better, except for a couple of unfortunately timed mistakes. Rybakina is one of the few players who can control a match against Sabalenka, and she did that for two sets.

Win or lose, this was Sabalenka’s sixth final in the last seven Slams. She’s disappointed in the defeat, and the squandered lead, but she can be confident she’ll have many more chances in Slam finals.

Will she be meeting Rybakina there? You have to think so. Since reuniting with Vukov—who was investigated and suspended by the WTA over abuse allegations last year—in Cincinnati, she’s 30-6, with titles at the Australian Open and the WTA Finals.

“I have big goals,” says Rybakina, who will move up to No. 3 on Monday. “I’m going to keep on working. Let’s see what’s going to happen.”

And now she knows the two words that work best for her: More energy.