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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 25: Aryna Sabalenka in action against Coco Gauff of the United States in the semi-final on Day 12 of the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 25, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 25: Aryna Sabalenka in action against Coco Gauff of the United States in the semi-final on Day 12 of the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 25, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)Robert Prange/Getty Images

Australian Open 2024 Women's Final: TV Schedule, Start Time and Live Stream

Joseph ZuckerJan 25, 2024

Aryna Sabalenka is one match away from a second straight Australian Open women's singles title after she downed Coco Gauff in the semifinal Thursday.

Qinwen Zheng will attempt to win her first career major trophy, having stopped Dayana Yastremska's underdog run in the semis.

Here's what you need to know for the first Grand Slam final of the 2024 season.

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Date: Saturday, Jan. 27

Time: 3:30 a.m. ET

TV Info: ESPN

Live Stream: ESPN+


This is the second encounter between Zabalenka and Zheng, with the former earning a straight-set victory in the 2023 U.S. Open quarterfinals.

It was a tighter match than the 6-1-, 6-4 score might lead one to believe. Sabalenka finished with 17 winners to 12 unforced errors, with Zheng recording 13 and 16 respectively. The Belarusian also had as many aces as she did double faults (three).

In order to avenge her loss from last summer, Zheng will have to fare much better against Sabalenka's serve. The eventual U.S. Open runner-up won al but three of her 26 first-service points and went 13-of-19 on second serves.

Granted, Zheng's service game will provide Sabalenka will plenty of difficulty.

The 21-year-old is leading the women's singles field in aces, and her 48 are nearly double the next closest player. She has also won a whopping 79 percent of her first-service points, which is also the best in the draw.

Sabalenka will enter the final as the clear favorite.

The 25-year-old has simply been peerless in her past two trips to Melbourne. She only dropped one set during her 2023 title run, and all of her six wins this month have come in straight sets. Gauff is the only opponent to push her to a tiebreaker so far.

Sabalenka's experience from last year's final should be invaluable as well.

"I'd say emotionally I'll be very ready to fight. Not going crazy," she said after her semifinal win. "Because when you play your first final, you get emotional and rush things sometimes. When you're third time in the finals, you're like, OK, it's a final. It's OK. It's just another match. You're able to separate yourself from that thing. Just focus on your game."

For as well as she has performed, Zheng has had a relatively path to Saturday's battle, too. She has yet to play a seeded opponent, though Dayana Yastremska's qualifer status was a bit deceiving as to her actual level.

It's difficult to envision anything other than a repeat triumph for Sabalenka.

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