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Sabalenka beats Svitolina to reach fourth straight Australian Open final

On Thursday, January 29, 2026, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3 in Melbourne to reach her fourth straight Australian Open final.
Boasting heavy groundstrokes, Sabalenka finished with 29 winners to Svitolina's 12 and entered Melbourne off strong form with back-to-back Australian Open titles 2023 and 2024.
Umpire Louise Azemar Engzell called a prolonged grunt by Sabalenka a hindrance; a video review upheld the ruling, but Sabalenka protested then broke back immediately.
Svitolina, 31, leaves Melbourne having played her first Australian Open semifinal and will return to the top 10 next week, but followed Ukrainian players' stance by skipping the net handshake and group photo.
Notably, all four semifinalists reached the last four without dropping a set in 56 years, setting up a rematch with Elena Rybakina, and Sabalenka joins Evonne Goolagong and Martina Hingis with four Australian Open finals in the Open era.

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Inquirer

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Sabalenka beats Svitolina to return to Australian Open final

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