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Aryna Sabalenka Beats Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 to Clinch Back-to-Back Australian Open Titles

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after victory against China's Zheng Qinwen during their women's singles final match on day 14 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 27, 2024. (AFP)
Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after victory against China's Zheng Qinwen during their women's singles final match on day 14 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 27, 2024. (AFP)
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Aryna Sabalenka Beats Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 to Clinch Back-to-Back Australian Open Titles

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after victory against China's Zheng Qinwen during their women's singles final match on day 14 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 27, 2024. (AFP)
Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after victory against China's Zheng Qinwen during their women's singles final match on day 14 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 27, 2024. (AFP)

Aryna Sabalenka clinched back-to-back Australian Open titles with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Zheng Qinwen on Saturday in a one-sided women’s final.

The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka broke Zheng’s serve in the second game and took the first set in 33 minutes.

She broke again to start the second set and maintained her dominance throughout against the No. 12-seeded Zheng.

Serving for the match at 5-2 in the second, she had three championship points at 40-0 but missed two with wide or long forehands and another with Zheng's clever drop shot.

In the end, she needed five championship points before finishing off with a forehand crosscourt winner.

Sabalenka improved to two wins in three Grand Slam finals, all in a span of 13 months.

She's the first woman since Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and ’13 to win back-to-back Australian Open titles.

The 21-year-old Zheng was making her debut in a major final and playing an opponent ranked in the top 50 for the first time in this tournament.

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IOC Sets January Date for 7 Presidential Candidates

The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, December 7, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, December 7, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
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IOC Sets January Date for 7 Presidential Candidates

The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, December 7, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, December 7, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The International Olympic Committee has set a Jan. 30 date for the key presidential election meeting where seven candidates will meet with voters ahead of their ballot in March, The Associated Press reported.
The closed-doors meeting at IOC headquarters is the only set-piece campaign event in perhaps the most discreet and secretive election in world sports. IOC rules prohibit candidates from publishing videos, organizing public meetings or taking part in public debates.
“This in-camera meeting will give the IOC members the opportunity to hear from the seven candidates about their programs,” the Olympic body said in a statement on Thursday.
The candidates to replace outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach include three members of the executive board he chairs: vice president Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. of Spain, Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan and Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe.
The other four are presidents of Olympic sports governing bodies: track and field’s Sebastian Coe of Britain; cycling’s David Lappartient from France; gymnastics leader Morinari Watanabe of Japan; and skiing’s Johan Eliasch, a Swedish-British citizen.
The vote by about 100 of their fellow IOC members is at a March 18-21 meeting near Ancient Olympia in Greece.
Bach is reaching his statutory maximum of 12 years in office and confirmed in August at the Paris Olympics that he will leave. His scheduled exit is in June after a three-month transition period with his successor.