US EditionSabalenka beats Svitolina to reach fourth straight Australian Open final
Sabalenka maintained a perfect set record at the Australian Open, hitting 29 winners and overcoming a hindrance call to secure her fourth straight final appearance.
- 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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No Handshake, Hindrance Call Controversy Dominates Aryna Sabalenka's Australian Open 2026 Final Entry | 🎾 LatestLY
World number one Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elina Svitolina in a high-stakes semi-final defined by a controversial grunting penalty and the continued absence of post-match handshakes. 🎾 No Handshake, Hindrance Call Controversy Dominates Aryna Sabalenka's Australian Open 2026 Final Entry.
What happened after Sobolenko's victory over Ukrainian Sweetolina on Australian Open.
First solid outside, right along the line to open the field and right crossed from the center to close the match. Then an expression suspects almost to favor of camera that looks just like an Australian Open (6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 17 minutes of play) and will now challenge Elena Rybakina in the final. A clear victory, but as preventable on the eve of the challenge is what happened before and after the game: the two hadn't taken the photo toge…
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