World number one Aryna Sabalenka powered into her fourth consecutive Australian Open final with a dominant 6 2, 6 3 win over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in a politically charged semi final in Melbourne.
The Belarusian, chasing a third Melbourne crown, denied 12th seed Svitolina the chance to become the first Ukrainian woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open era. Like other Ukrainian players, Svitolina has maintained a policy of not shaking hands with opponents from Russia or Belarus because of the war in Ukraine.
Before the match at Rod Laver Arena, an announcement informed fans there would be no handshake and a message on the big screen asked them to respect that decision. The two players also kept a noticeable distance during the pre match formalities and photographs.
Both women entered the semi final in red hot form, unbeaten in 10 matches this season and yet to drop a set in Melbourne. Sabalenka arrived after winning the Brisbane title, while Svitolina was riding the momentum of her triumph in Auckland.
Early in the first set, Sabalenka was given a hindrance call for grunting, prompting a video review and boos from sections of the crowd. Clearly irritated, she briefly lost the point but quickly regained her focus, breaking Svitolina for 3 1 and then holding for 4 1 on her way to sealing the set in 41 minutes.
The 27 year old, who lost last year’s Australian Open final to Madison Keys and has described her 2026 campaign as “trophy or nothing,” kept up the pressure with heavy hitting and aggressive returns. Sabalenka broke again to close out the opening set and carried her dominance into the second.
Svitolina, 31, made a strong start to the second set by breaking Sabalenka’s serve for a 2 0 lead. But a fired up Sabalenka responded immediately, reeling off five straight games to move 5 2 ahead and put herself on the brink of victory.
Sabalenka closed out the match 6 3 to extend her streak of Australian Open finals to four. Speaking afterwards, she said she was “super happy” with the win and praised Svitolina’s level throughout the tournament but reminded fans that “the job is not done yet.”
She will face either Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina or American Jessica Pegula in the championship match as she bids for a third Australian Open title.
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