World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka entered her fourth Australian Open final in Melbourne on Thursday evening with an emphatic 6-2 6-3 victory over Elina Svitolina, the 12th seed from Ukraine, in 76 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.
I’m still disappointed that I didn’t move on, but I feel like I shouldn’t really be sad. I’m in a great position. I have this great opportunity to play here on center court, to represent my country, to do it in a decent way, and to have the opportunity, you know, to use my words and just be there for my people. I feel like these last few weeks they have really carried me with great feelings, with great emotions, and for me this is something that really motivates me. Elina Svitolina
The two-time AO champion has her eyes firmly on lifting the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for the third time in Saturday’s championship match, and is waiting to hear who she will play against for that: Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula, whose semi-final followed.
“An incredible achievement, but the job is not done yet,” Sabalenka said afterwards. “Super happy with the win. She is such a tough opponent, played fantastic tennis all week and was just super happy to get through this tough match.”
The 27-year-old Belarusian added that she watched Svitolina’s progress during the draw, which helped her formulate a game plan.
“I watched her game, she played fantastic against Mirra [Andreeva]to Coco [Gauff]“Overall I felt like I had to intervene during the tournament and put as much pressure on her as possible, and I’m happy that the level was there today. I played fantastic tennis and I’m happy to get the victory in straight sets.”
Sabalenka is only the third player in the Open Era to reach four consecutive women’s singles finals at Melbourne Park, after Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who appeared in seven finals between 1971 and 1977, and Martina Hingis, who played in six finals between 1997 and 2002.
Sabalenka and Svitolina, perhaps the two most in-form players of the season so far, had lifted the trophies at the Brisbane International and the ASB Classic in Auckland respectively, with both reaching the Last 4 without dropping a set.
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Known for her raw power, Sabalenka dominated Svitolina on the return, but in the very first game, after trailing 15-40, she had to save herself by winning four consecutive points, three of which were winners, to save the break points and hold her serve.
The first break of the match went to the Belarusian, with some controversy, although at the opening point the chair referee, Louise Azemar Engzell, called an obstruction foul on Sabalenka, who requested a video review.
The referee claimed Sabalenka had screamed ‘unusually’ as she thought her shot was going out towards the baseline, which the referee said had hampered Svitolina’s return.
The decision remained in favor of the Ukrainian, who then played her shot of the match with a forehand dig after Sabalenka hit a drop shot, bringing the crowd at Rod Laver Arena into their votes.
Sabalenka silenced them with a break, taking a 3-1 lead and then consolidating for a 4-1 lead.
The world number 1 had a chance to take a double break but was denied by Svitolina, who fired a 144 km/h second serve into Sabalenka’s body, effectively blocking the powerful right-hander.
Serving to stay in the set at 2-5 down, Svitolina saved two set points before Sabalenka produced a stunning backhand cross-court winner to clinch the set.
Twelfth seed Elina Svitolina had her chances but they were quickly swept away by top seed Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday night at Melbourne Park
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The twelfth-seeded Ukrainian found herself in the same situation when she started the second, with a chance for a break point, but this time she converted and then won four straight points in the next game, capping it off with a lucky net-cord winner to hold on to take a 2-0 lead.
After exchanging words of love, a determined Sabalenka stepped up her intensity upon return, blasting thunderous groundstrokes from both wings to break back.
The point that sunk Svitolina’s hopes came after leading 40-30, in a must-hold point, when the Ukrainian matched Sabalenka’s power on almost every shot in the intense rally but mishit her final forehand and the ball went wide.
A small shout with a palm in front of her face, Svitolina succumbed to a double fault and gave Sabalenka the advantage, which the Belarusian, now beaming with confidence from the baseline, converted by unleashing a backhand winner.
Svitolina had a chance to break back in the 7th game but was denied as Sabalenka smashed another forehand winner down the line.
The Ukrainian served successfully to stay in the match, forcing Sabalenka to serve at 5-3, and the top seed, unwavering in her determination, sealed the deal with a clinical cross-court forehand winner.
Sabalenka played her aggressive best on Thursday, hitting 29 winners during the match to take her tournament leading tally to 172 as she earned her 8th career Grand Slam final berth, and her 4th in Melbourne.
She didn’t drop a set en route to the championship match, just as she did in 2023 and 2024, when she ultimately won the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
She improved her head-to-head against Svitolina to 6-1 and waited for the winner of Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina in the final.
Should Rybakina advance, it would mean a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final, which she won in a comeback, 4-6 6-3 6-4.
Aryna Sabalenka needed 76 minutes to beat 12th seed Elina Svitolina in Thursday’s semi-final at Rod Laver Arena
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As for Svitolina, this was her first appearance in the Last 4 at Melbourne Park, while the loss broke the 31-year-old’s last run of ten wins this season.
“[I’m] absolutely very happy with the two weeks here and in New Zealand, just like us. Of course it is very difficult when you play world number 1,” Svitolina said [I] I just want to take the positives from the past few weeks and the start of the year and carry them through the season.”
However, Svitolina was left to lament her service on Thursday, which she described as ‘not great’.
“To be honest, I thought I came back pretty well today,” she added. “I think I came back well, but her second shot was unbelievable. She came back good and fast, and then she got hit on the second shot after her serve.”
En route to the semifinals, Svitolina defeated world No. 8 Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round and dominated world No. 3 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals, losing only three matches.
Since having her daughter Skai in 2022, Svitolina has returned to the WTA Tour in the best form of her career and will be back in the Top 10 on Monday.
Traditionally, Svitolina has favored a more defensive approach, but since returning to the tour after maternity leave, she has evolved into a more aggressive player.
“I think for me, since I came back after pregnancy, it was all about finding opportunities to attack, and not rushing, because I think I still had some matches where I rushed too much,” Svitolina said after her win over Gauff. “But now for me it’s really about trying to move my feet well, trying to find the little opportunities to take the initiative and strike first.”
Svitolina will certainly take positive memories of her fourteen days in Australia.
“I’m still disappointed that I didn’t move on, but I feel like I shouldn’t really be sad,” the Ukrainian reasoned. “I’m in a great position. I have this great opportunity to play here on center court, to represent my country, to do it in a decent way, and to have the opportunity, you know, to use my words and just be there for my people.”
“I feel like they really helped me these last few weeks with a great atmosphere and great emotions, and for me this is something that really motivates me.”
Aryna Sabalenka asked the chair umpire for a video review after receiving an obstruction violation in the Australian Open semi-final against Elina Svitolina on Day 12 at Melbourne Park
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