Australian Open 2026: Aryna Sabalenka brushes aside Elina Svitolina to reach Melbourne final
Svitolina always faced an uphill battle against Sabalenka, having lost their past five meetings.
Sabalenka’s stats – 29 winners to 15 unforced errors and dropping just 11 points on serve – show how she dominated the play, but more impressive was her mental focus.
An engaging, occasionally volatile figure on court, Sabalenka let her emotions get the better of her in both the Australian Open and French Open showpieces last year.
This year, with Svitolina serving at 2-1 down in the first set, Sabalenka was called for hindrance by umpire Louise Azemar Engzell for grunting during a rally.
The hindrance rule is meant to stop a player from interfering with an opponent’s ability to make a shot, either by shouting, making noise or dropping a ball from their pocket.
Engzell told Sabalenka she “did not make the normal sound” when she hit the ball and subsequently awarded the point to Svitolina.
Sabalenka asked for a video review but, with players unable to hear the audio, could only watch as Engzell replayed the footage and stayed with her decision.
The Belarusian was unimpressed, aiming a sarcastic thumbs down at the umpire and offering a few choice words to her team, but she was able to reset quickly.
Sabalenka subsequently broke Svitolina’s serve and then won four of the next five games to take the first set.
After a dreadful service game handed an immediate second-set break to Svitolina, Sabalenka glared at her team, stomped to her seat and then broke back at the first opportunity.
She saved another break point on her way to a 5-2 lead before fittingly closing out victory with a forehand winner.
