The Spaniard needed less than 90 minutes to dispatch the 23rd seed from Italy
Prganisers will be on high alert to ensure the event goes off safely.
That was the lesser of two disappointments for the Belarusian on Thursday, as Azarenka's bid for a third title at Melbourne Park ended with some regret at her missed chances against 22nd seed Rybakina.
Elena Rybakina stormed to her first Australian Open final with a 7-6(4), 6-3 win over Victoria Azarenka on Thursday, wearing the twice champion down in a cagey first set before dominating to close out the match.
Politics infused the event in Doha where Belarusian swimmers competed as neutrals due to restrictions imposed on their athletes, and Russia's, stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- which Moscow called a "special military operation".
Black boxes from the jet that crashed and killed Yevgeny Prigozhin and nine other people have also been recovered by Russian investigators.
Aryna Sabalenka took a big step towards retaining her Australian Open crown by beating American fourth seed Coco Gauff
Iga Swiatek beat Czech 10th seed Marketa Vondrousova to reach the Cincinnati Open semi-finals.
Paula Badosa spoiled Simona Halep's return from a doping ban.
Coco Gauff became the first American to win a US Open singles title since Sloane Stephens in 2017.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz snapped Daniil Medvedev's 19-match win streak with a 6-3, 6-2 rout in the Indian Wells final on Sunday.
Images from Day 8 of the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday.
The tournament initiative was to launch on Wednesday - Ukraine Independence Day - with the exhibition event at Louis Armstrong Stadium
Raducanu was bundled out of the French Open in the second round
Paris is, and will continue to be, dogged by the usual gripes about staging the greatest show on earth.
Sabalenka overpowers Raducanu, Osaka falls
'The ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental to our Tour.'
Sabalenka will overtake Poland's Iga Swiatek when the new rankings are updated on Monday
Holger Rune rallied from a set down and saved a match point to defeat former champion Taylor Fritz 2-6 7-6(2) 6-3 on Wednesday and reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals where he will meet fourth seed Daniil Medvedev.
IMAGES from Day 10 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Images from Day 10 of the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Tuesday.
The about-face comes less than 24 hours after the IPC on Wednesday announced it would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete
Elena Rybakina knocked out defending champion Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells on Friday to set up a clash against Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Antim Panghal shocked reigning champion Olivia Dominique Parrish en route to the World Championship semifinals.
In a televised address to the nation on Monday, Putin said that since the start of the events, steps were taken on his orders to avoid large-scale bloodshed, as he thanked the Russians for endurance and support.
Check out Aryna Sabalenka's delightful Australian Open trophy photoshoot
Klitschko and his brother Vitali, also a former world heavyweight champion and now the mayor of Kyiv, have both taken up arms against invading Russian forces.
Five top contenders for the women's title at the US Open.
Geopolitical tensions simmered at the US Open on Thursday as Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk refused the customary handshake at the net when Belarusian Victoria Azarenka defeated her 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.
Hurkacz, Swiatek win as Poland march into United Cup final
'Of course, you don't wish this on anyone. You want these terrible things to be able to finish as fast as possible for all the people in the world to have a chance to have a good life.'
Ukrainian athletes were given a warm welcome in Beijing as the Winter Paralympics opened
A Russian tennis player was refused boarding by a Polish airlines and then denied a ticket by German airlines Lufthansa.
Daniil Medvedev quelled the challenge of wildcard Arthur Fery and Marta Kostyuk fought back to upset Maria Sakkari and storm into the Wimbledon second round on a rainy Wednesday.
Khrenin spoke while wrapping-up the preliminary results of the Russia-Belarus military drills 'Union Courage 2022' scheduled to conclude on Sunday.
Swiatek is positioned to face American fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.
Aryna Sabalenka said at the French Open that she did not want her country to be in any conflict and did not support the war in Ukraine.
Images from Day 4 of the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Russian Daria Kasatkina said she left the French Open with a bitter taste in her mouth after being booed off by the crowd.
Biden, while not ruling out the meeting Putin at G20 meet, said that there are conditions attached.
