MELBOURNE, Australia – Even a point penalty for interference didn’t slow Aryna Sabalenka’s run to a fourth consecutive Australian Open final.
Top-ranked Sabalenka overpowered Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday evening to move within one win of a third Australian Open title in four years.
A rematch of the 2023 final against Elena Rybakina took place when No. 5 seed ousted No. 6 Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (7) in the second semifinal.
“It was a great fight (against Sabalenka in 2023),” Rybakina said. “In the end she played a little better and that was well deserved. I want to enjoy the final and hopefully I can serve better than today. I’m so excited.”
Her semi-final was largely one-way traffic until Rybakina had match point. The 2022 Wimbledon champion missed three match points on Pegula’s serve and was then broken twice while serving for the match.
Pegula rallied and had two set points in the tiebreak but could not convert, and Rybakina finally took the ball 29 minutes after her first match point.
“Really stressful,” Rybakina said. She admitted she had flashbacks of the 2024 Open when she lost the longest women’s tiebreak ever at a Grand Slam to Anna Blinkova 22-20 in a three-set defeat.
“I’m proud no matter the situation. It got very tight, I stayed there,” she said of the victory over Pegula. “I fought for every point.”
All four players reached the semi-finals without dropping a set – in Australia for the first time in 56 years – and Sabalenka and Svitolina each had a 10-match winning streak to start the season after titles in warm-up events.
Sabalenka kept both her streaks alive. She hit 19 winners and broke Svitolina’s serve twice in the first set. She finished with 29 winners and 12 ahead of her Ukrainian rival.
As has become customary for Ukrainians against players from Russia and Belarus, there were no handshakes at the net. There was also no group photo before the match.
Sabalenka is the third woman in the Open era to reach four consecutive singles finals at the Australian Open, after Evonne Goolagong and Martina Hingis.
“It’s an incredible achievement, but the job is not done yet,” said an emotional Sabalenka in her on-field TV interview. “I watched her game, (Svitolina) played unbelievable. I felt like I had to step in and put as much pressure on her as possible. I’m happy the level was there. I think I played great tennis.”
The only problem was the impediment to starting the fourth game. Interference is used for a distraction that prevents a player from making a shot, and can also include the loud noise of an opponent.
Referee Louise Azemar Engzell ruled that Sabalenka made a prolonged grunt after hitting a forehand. The shot seemed to go long, but ended up inside the baseline, giving Svitolina the chance to continue playing. At that point the referee intervened.
Sabalenka asked for a video review, but after going to the band, Azemar Engzell confirmed her decision that the grunt was longer than normal.
It didn’t hurt Sabalenka. She broke serve in that game.
“That’s actually never happened to me… especially with my grunting,” Sabalenka said. “Then she called it, and I was like, ‘What? What’s wrong with you?'”
Sabalenka said it aggravated her, but worked as motivation.
“It really helped me – I was more aggressive. I wasn’t happy with the call, and it really helped me get that game,” Sabalenka said. She added with a laugh, “So if she (Azemar Engzell) ever wants to do it again — I want to make sure she’s not scared of it — go ahead, call it. It’ll help me.”
After reaching her first semi-final in Australia and winning a title in a warm-up tournament in New Zealand, Svitolina returns to the top 10 for the first time since taking a maternity break in 2022.
The title in Auckland was her first foray back on tour after an early end to the 2025 season due to a mental health break. She said the rest and timeout extended her career.
“Definitely very happy with the two weeks here and also with the win in New Zealand,” she said. “I’m sorry not to get through tonight, but it’s very difficult when you play against the number 1 in the world, who is really on fire.”
Svitolina played her fourth semifinal at a major – 2019 and 2023 at Wimbledon and the 2019 US Open – but again could not get to the championship match.
“It was very complicated for me today,” she said, “but yes, I just want to take the positives from the last few weeks, the beginning of the year, and take them into the season.”
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