Aryna Sabalenka roars back to win an epic Australian Open final

Aryna Sabalenka became the first neutral grand-slam champion when she lifted the Daphne Akhurst Trophy in Melbourne. As a Belarusian, she was not allowed a flag by her name, nor any other mention of her nationality. And yet, as she pointed out guilelessly in her post-match press conference: “Everyone still knows that I’m a Belarusian player.”

So much for tennis’s feeble attempt to mask the realities of the Ukrainian invasion. But still, while the political dimension of this final must be acknowledged, we should also commend it as a magnificent sporting spectacle. Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas will have to pull out all the stops if they are to match it for drama and shot-making ambition. Read More