This Australian Open draw tells twin stories of an evolving WTA. Dominance is beginning to solidify at the top of the tour in a way we haven’t seen in years…and yet, there’s still plenty of bedlam to keep things spicy.

The bottom half of the draw maintained order. Seeded players generally kept it together and took care of business for at least a round or two. There was space for the occasional thrilling breakout, courtesy of hyped teens of the past (Amanda Anisimova) and present (Mirra Andreeva), but the elite of the elite serenely slashed their way to the semifinal, a showdown between Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff. In terms of narrative continuity, it’s a joy to see some repeat customers in the late rounds of these Slams. And it’s no real surprise to see these two picking up right where they left off in the US Open final. In this match they comfortably surpassed the quality of their duel in New York—leaving some of the nerves behind, ratcheting up the execution—and Sabalenka took it in two taut sets. I’ll happily watch a dozen more rounds of this offense vs. defense clash over the next few seasons. Sabalenka emerged having won 26 of her last 27 sets in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, the top half of the draw embraced chaos. One key disruptor was the 19-year-old Linda Noskova, a long-rumored talent self-actualizing with flair. She overpowered the world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, caught a little luck with an Elina Svitolina retirement, and bowed out of her quarterfinal in tears, but previewed a significant career to come. In large part the chaos in this half was supplied by Dayana Yastremska, whose mere presence in the tournament wasn’t to be taken for granted, given that she was down a break in the third set of her last match in the qualifying rounds. She survived, though, then dove as deep into the main draw of a Slam as any qualifier in history besides Emma Raducanu in 2021. Newcomers were alerted to Yastremska’s rich history: a former No. 21 ranking, sudden retirements from matches while on the precipice of defeat, a side hustle in pop music, a positive test for an anabolic steroid that was later cleared with a “kissing” defense even more memorable than Richard Gasquet’s, and a Ukrainian home life disrupted by Russian belligerence. She took out two major champs. By the fourth round, rising star Qinwen Zheng was the highest-ranked player remaining in this half of the draw, and she was its last survivor, dispatching Yastremska in their semifinal.

All that left us with a compelling final: Sabalenka vs. Zheng; No. 2 seed vs. No. 12; a 25-year-old in her gasp-inducing prime vs. a talented 21-year-old who reached this level slightly ahead of schedule. They’re two of the tour’s heaviest ball-strikers, as Zheng gins up huge topspin with a western forehand grip like Swiatek’s. Both are also high-powered servers who’ve had some demons with the second serve, and while Sabalenka has left her incessant double faults in the past, Zheng is still doing some troubleshooting. Their journeys to the final were quite different. Sabalenka has faced two other major champions ranked in the top 10 and hasn’t dropped a set in the tournament; only Gauff had managed to pry at least four games off her in a set. Whereas Zheng’s unusual path to the final did not include an opponent ranked in the top 50, making it hard to assess her level with much confidence. (Perhaps the closest Zheng got to a former major champ in the last fortnight was a charming run-in with her idol and countrywoman Li Na, who won her Australian Open exactly a decade ago; there’s an awesome photo of Zheng watching that win on TV as a kid.) 

These two have met only once before, in the quarterfinal of last year’s US Open, which Sabalenka won without much fuss. Sabalenka’s baseline game is likely sturdier at the moment, and she’ll be the favorite as she looks to defend her title. Zheng, the tournament’s ace leader, will have to serve with conviction to keep Sabalenka’s hyper-aggressive returns in check. Expect some brutal and brief points in this final, aces and hissing winners in abundance. Whoever wins, that poor tennis ball loses.

—If you haven’t had enough Meddy, here’s Giri on his epic win over Hubie Hurkacz earlier in the week.

—Rafael Nadal will continue his comeback in Doha next month.

—ESPN offers a primer on the Alexander Zverev domestic abuse charges.

—Nick Kyrgios opens up, as they say, in the Sydney Morning Herald.

—Jon Wertheim has some choice words for Margaret Court.

—Billie Jean King still has a lot to say, from The Cut.

—ICYMI: Tim Newcomb’s Australian Open shoe report.