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Posted: 2023-01-27 20:28:43

It's finals time at the Australian Open, with the first women's singles grand slam title of the season set to be decided at Melbourne Park.

The field of 128 players has been whittled down to just two — 22nd seed, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka

The pair will be competing for the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the chance to succeed Australia's Ash Barty as women's singles champion.

Here's all you need to know about the decider at Melbourne Park.

When is the final?

The match will be played on Rod Laver Arena tonight, starting at 7:30pm AEDT (Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Hobart) — that's 7:00pm in Adelaide (ACDT), 6:30pm in Brisbane (AEST), 6pm in Darwin (ACST) and 4:30pm in Perth (AWST).  

How do I watch the final?

The Nine Network is Australia's free-to-air broadcaster for the Australian Open.

The match will be broadcast on Channel Nine and 9HD (channel 90), or in certain parts of Australia part of the match may be on GEM (channel 92).

You can also stream the match on 9NOW, or on pay TV on Stan Sport.

What's on the line?

A silver tennis trophy sits against a vivid blue background at the Australian Open.
The winner of the Australian Open women's singles final joins the list of champions on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.(Getty Images: Daniel Pockett)

Aside from getting your name on the trophy, there is the small matter of $1.35 million — the difference in prize money between winning the title ($2.975 million) and being the runner-up ($1.625 million).

Regardless of the result, Sabalenka is expected to be at number two in the world rankings from Monday. if Rybakina wins, she will move to eighth in the world; if not, she will be 10th.

How did they get here?

Two players face the camera as they shake hands at the net after their women's tennis match at the Australian Open.
Elena Rybakina (right) made it through to her second grand slam final with a win over Victoria Azarenka. (AP: Aaron Favila)

For Sabalenka, it is a case of fourth time lucky in reaching the tournament decider at a major, having fallen at the semifinal stage three times previously.

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