A wing and a prayer: Rybakina’s quiet resolve wrests glory from Sabalenka
0
23
Jack Snape at Melbourne Park Sat, 31 January 2026 at 2:20 pm UTC·4 min read The sprinkling rain at Melbourne Park meant the roof stayed closed on centre court for the Australian Open women’s final, turning Rod Laver Arena into a concert hall charged with the music of tennis. But there was one noise that wasn’t quite right. In the sacred moments before each player’s serving motion, the crowd generally obeyed the protocol demanding silence. However, a single bird – perched somewhere high in the rafters – was less compliant. It must not have been able to escape before the roof shut on Saturday afternoon, and so there it stayed. Tweet-tweet. An unusual accompaniment to a grand slam final. No one...