The Ukrainian extended her winning streak to nine matches after bagging the Auckland title, while Adelaide champ Andreeva lost for the first time in 2026.
Svitolina’s start to the season came after the resolute 31-year-old shut down her 2025 campaign last September to refresh. She told reporters this week the move has paid off.
As she has done this whole fortnight, Svitolina capitalised on her opponent’s second serve. The 18-year-old Andreeva tallied just 25 per cent of those points.
You never quite know in a tennis match when turning points might arise. On Sunday night, a key moment seemed to come in the very first game.
Andreeva, the No. 8 seed, crushed a forehand return down the line to open proceedings and later held three straight break points, but all three were saved.
When they faced off the lone other time in Indian Wells last year, Andreeva was the one who saved the first break points, then prevailed in straight sets on the way to the title.
Svitolina duly broke for 3-1 at Rod Laver Arena when Andreeva – who finds herself up at the net more than most in the game – sent a volley long.
Although Andreeva got back on serve, Svitolina re-established her break advantage for 4-2.
Things weren’t going Andreeva’s way, yet she produced magic in the next game, authoring a forehand pass down the line off a nifty backhand slice approach that drew applause from Svitolina.
Two Svitolina drive volleys saved two break points, and with Svitolina’s backhand continuing to do damage, she did not drop another game in the opener.
