Aryna Sabalenka beats Zheng Qinwen in straight-sets to successfully defend her Australian Open women’s singles title

Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her Australian Open crown after a comprehensive victory over Zheng Qinwen in the women’s singles final on Saturday.

The tournament’s No 2 seed won 6-3, 6-2 in a little over an hour to claim her second Grand Slam singles trophy without dropping a set.

In doing so, the Belarusian became the first woman to win back-to-back Australian Opens since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013.

‘It’s been an amazing couple of weeks and I couldn’t imagine lifting the trophy another time,’ said the 25-year-old Sabalenka.

Zheng, who had not had to face a top-50 player through the first six rounds, had hoped to emulate the watching Li Na and claim the title for China a decade on.

But the 21-year-old, the 12th first-time slam finalist in the women’s game in the last three years, was up against it from the start and Sabalenka wrapped up victory in only 76 minutes despite a brief disruption from pro-Palestine protesters.

‘It’s my first final and I’m feeling a little bit [of] pity but it was a good experience at the same time,’ said Zheng, who will move into the world’s top 10 for the first time when the rankings are published on Monday.

‘I feel complicated because I could have done better but I didn’t in this match.’