Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka is through to a sixth consecutive Grand Slam semifinal after routing 29th-seeded Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0 on Tuesday in the Australian Open at Melbourne.
Sabalenka will take on No. 12 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, who only needed 59 minutes to complete a stunning 6-1, 6-2 knockout of No. 3 Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka won the Australian Open championship in 2023 and 2024, then fell in the final against Madison Keys last year. The 27-year-old Belarusian has won 25 of her past 26 matches in Melbourne.
Jovic, an 18-year-old Los Angeles native, was playing in her first major quarterfinal. She never previously got past the second round in a Grand Slam tournament.
Sabalenka dominated the 90-minute match with her serve. She won 83.3% of her first-serve points and saved all five break points she faced, including two in the final game. Sabalenka wound up with a 6-1 advantage in aces.
“It was a tough match,” Sabalenka said. “Don’t look at the score, it wasn’t easy at all. She played incredible tennis. Pushed me to one step better level. And I’m super happy with the win.”
Sabalenka is 5-1 lifetime against Svitolina, having prevailed in the past four meetings.
Svitolina dismantled Gauff to reach her fourth career Grand Slam semifinal, and first in Australia. She converted six of seven break points against the American favorite, who finished the match with more double faults (four) than winners (three). Gauff had 26 unforced errors, compared to 16 for Svitolina.
“She played really well,” Gauff said. “And unfortunately, usually when people raise their level, I’m able to raise mine, and today I just — I didn’t do that … I just felt like all the things I do well, I just wasn’t doing well today. The backhand wasn’t firing. Forehand wasn’t really firing. Returns. There was just a lot that didn’t go well today.”
Svitolina, 31, is unbeaten (10-0) in 2026 after collecting her 19th WTA Tour singles title in Auckland last month. In fact, she has only lost one set this year against Sonay Kartal in the Auckland quarterfinals.
Svitolina will return to the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time since October 2021.
“Not bad, not bad at all,” Svitolina said in her on-court interview. “Always been my dream to come back in top 10 after maternity leave, that’s always been my goal.”
–Field Level Media
