Aryna Sabalenka won her first grand slam singles title after beating Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4 in Melbourne.

Rybakina got out of the blocks first in Saturday's Australian Open final and took the opening set inside 35 minutes.

Sabalenka, who hadn't lost a single set in the run-up to the final, responded in style and levelled the match to force a decider.

In a tight third set, which lasted for a gruelling hour, the Belarusian held her nerve and sealed the title.

As well as lifting her first grand slam singles trophy, Sabalenka also bagged £1.7m in prize money.

"I think it's even more enjoyable, I would say, after all those tough matches," said Sabalenka, who had lost three times in slam semi-finals.

"I really feel right now that I needed those tough losses to kind of understand myself a little bit better. It was like a preparation for me.

"I actually feel happy that I lost those matches, so right now I can be a different player and just a different Aryna."

She added: "The last game, of course I was a little bit nervous," she said. "I kept telling myself, 'Nobody tells you that it's going to be easy, you just have to work for it, work for it until the last point'.

"That was a tough game. I'm super happy that I was able to handle all those emotions and win this one."

Rybakina, who entered the final as the Wimbledon champion, had to settle for the runners-up cheque of £932,000 following her first grand slam final heartbreak.