Adedokun Waliyu 
Aryna Sabalenka has defeated Qinwen Zheng to win the 2024 Australian Open women’s singles title.
It was a stroll in the park for the defending champion who retained the title in two straight sets of 6-3, 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
The Belarusian outperformed Zheng in the first set to win 6-3. She played clinical and methodical tennis which earned her easy points almost every time she served out wide to Zheng’s forehand side.
The world no. 2 relied on her depth and pace to keep the Chinese at bay to claim the second set 6-2.
In 2023, Sabalenka won the Australian Open despite losing the opening set in the final against Elena Rybakina.
The Belarusian has now become the fifth woman to win the tournament without losing a set since 2000.
She joins an illustrious league comprising Lindsay Davenport (2000), Maria Sharapova (2008), Serena Williams (2017), and Ashleigh Barty (2022).
