ARYNA SABALENKA REACHES FOURTH STRAIGHT AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL WITH SVITOLINA VICTORY
Aryna Sabalenka powered past Elina Svitolina in straight sets to reach her fourth consecutive Australian Open final in Melbourne.
Aryna Sabalenka just keeps rolling at the Australian Open. She brushed aside Elina Svitolina in straight sets—6-2, 6-3—and now she’s into her fourth final in a row in Melbourne.
World No.1? She looked every bit of it. Svitolina came in hot, riding a 10-match win streak and fresh off beating two top-ten players, but Sabalenka never blinked. That’s 22 straight hardcourt wins against players ranked outside the top 10 for her now. Plus, this is her eighth Grand Slam final. She’s making it look easy.
Sabalenka hasn’t dropped a set the whole tournament, and she hammered 29 winners against Svitolina. She won 69% of her first serves. Only Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis have ever reached seven straight hardcourt major finals in the Open Era. Now, Sabalenka joins that club.
“I can’t believe it—what an achievement,” Sabalenka said when someone pointed out she hasn’t lost a set so far. “But the job’s not done. I’m super happy with the win.”
Right from the start, Svitolina tried to push her. Sabalenka had to save two break points in her opening service game, but after that, she settled in. Her power just wore Svitolina down, especially when she attacked that second serve.
Things got a little heated in the fourth game. Sabalenka lost a point because the umpire said her grunt was too loud and counted as a hindrance. She wanted a video review, but the call stood. The umpire explained, “On the video, you go, ‘ah ah-ya!’ That’s not your normal sound. It’s a hindrance.” Sabalenka didn’t agree, but she let it go and broke Svitolina’s serve in that same game. She closed out the first set with a clean backhand winner, just over 40 minutes in.
Svitolina finally got on the board in the second, breaking Sabalenka’s serve and jumping ahead 2-0. That lead didn’t last. Sabalenka snapped right back, winning eight of the next nine points to level things up.
As she closed in on her 34th career win at the Australian Open—same as Svitolina, by the way—Sabalenka looked totally in control. She fired a serve down the line to set up two match points and finished it off with a forehand winner.
“She’s such a tough opponent, and she was playing incredible tennis all week,” Sabalenka said about Svitolina. “I’m just happy to get through this. I’ve been watching her—she was great against Mirra (Andreeva) and Coco (Gauff). I knew I needed to step up and put pressure on her. I’m glad my game was there today.”
Now, Sabalenka’s waiting to see if she’ll face Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula in the final. She’s beaten both before. As for what’s next? Nothing fancy.
“I’ll hit a bit, then Netflix. Maybe dinner with the team. Then I’m ready to go,” she said, smiling about her Friday plans.
INSIDE JANNIK SINNER’S HISTORIC INDIAN WELLS VICTORY AS FIRST ITALIAN MALE CHAMPION
Jannik Sinner makes history as the first Italian man to win Indian Wells, defeating Daniil Medvedev in two tiebreaks.
Jannik Sinner crushed Daniil Medvedev’s hopes at Indian Wells Sunday night. Medvedev looked sharp all week; he even took down Carlos Alcaraz to reach the final.
But when it came to the championship match, Sinner edged him out in two tense tiebreaks, 7-6, 7-6. Medvedev’s loss stings, but let’s be real: his level this week showed he’s back to fighting for big trophies after a pretty rough 2025.
He’s set a big goal for himself, too, with all the pressure that comes along with it. After the match, Medvedev, now 30, talked about whether he’s the one who can break up Alcaraz and Sinner’s grip at the top; he even admitted he slipped up a bit in the final.
On that note, it’s wild how Alcaraz and Sinner have ruled the ATP Tour lately. Between them, they’ve grabbed the last nine Grand Slam titles and barely given anyone else a chance. Still, Medvedev made things interesting at Indian Wells by beating Alcaraz and pushing Sinner to the edge.
In his post-match press conference, Medvedev shared his thoughts on his future and the big question: Can he really challenge Sinner and Alcaraz?
He said, “Honestly, it’s a pleasure to play Sinner and Alcaraz. Last year, I didn’t even get a shot; they were out of reach because I kept losing early. I’m glad this time I played well enough to beat the others first, took down Carlos, and then got to face Jannik.
My goal? Not to obsess over them, but to work on my own game, beat everyone else, and then, chances are, in Miami, I'm going to run into one of them in the semis or the final if I play out of my mind.”
He continued, “It’s tough to say if I’m the guy to challenge them, honestly. I’ve lost a bunch against them, and again today with Jannik. But I know I can play top-level tennis. Whoever I meet next, whether it’s Carlos, Jannik, or someone else, I’ll just try to play my best tennis. I proved I can do it again here, in Dubai, and in Brisbane.
On any given day, anyone can challenge them; look at Jakub beating Jannik in Doha or me beating Carlos here. So it’s not just me, not just Novak, not just Sascha. But it’s hard, and that’s why by the end of the season, those guys have sixty wins and only five or six losses, half of those losses coming against each other. It’s a tough mountain to climb, but you just keep trying.”
Now, Sinner, Alcaraz, and Medvedev head to the Miami Masters, which kicks off Tuesday. The last time around, Jakub Mensik won there; it’s the second Masters 1000 event of 2026.
Sinner made history on Sunday. No Italian man had ever won Indian Wells until he pulled it off. He now owns 25 ATP titles and is the youngest player to win all six ATP hard-court Masters events. Back in 1974, John Newcombe was the tournament’s first champ, beating Arthur Ashe in the final. Since then, Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer have all lifted the trophy. Federer and Djokovic sit at the top with five Indian Wells titles each.
ARYNA SABALENKA APPLAUDS ELINA SVITOLINA’S POST-PREGNANCY COMEBACK DURING INDIAN WELLS
Aryna Sabalenka reaches the Indian Wells final to face Elena Rybakina, while praising Elina Svitolina’s inspiring return.
Aryna Sabalenka had just made it to the Indian Wells final, set to face Elena Rybakina, though at the time of her press conference, the match-up wasn’t official yet.
Reporters asked her thoughts on both possible opponents, and she didn’t hold back on her respect for each. Sabalenka had a lot of praise for both semi-finalists, but especially for Elina Svitolina.
Pretty much everyone expected Rybakina to make it through, and that’s what happened. Still, Sabalenka made it clear how much she admired Svitolina, even though Svitolina didn’t make the final.
Here’s what Sabalenka had to say about Svitolina’s comeback:
“She’s an incredible player. Honestly, seeing the level she’s brought to the court after her pregnancy is so inspiring; it's really cool to watch. Every match we’ve played has been a tough battle. Always a show, always top level. If it had been Elina, I would’ve been just as excited. I know with her it’s always a real fight, always entertaining. I’m super excited either way.”
Sabalenka beat Svitolina at this year’s Australian Open but then lost the final to Rybakina. There’s no question Sabalenka wants to set the record straight against Rybakina at Indian Wells.
Getting to this final hasn’t exactly been a breeze, either. While her showdown with Rybakina is probably her toughest challenge yet, Sabalenka already battled through a stacked field just to get here without dropping a single set, no less.
She started fast, rolling past Himeno Sakatsume and Jaqueline Cristian. Then came Naomi Osaka in the Round of 16, a match many thought would be tight, but Sabalenka kept control and won solidly.
Victoria Mboko gave her a fight in their quarter-final’s opening set, but Sabalenka pulled away again in the tiebreak. She kept that momentum going against Linda Nosková in the semi-final, not giving her an inch.
Now, it’s down to Rybakina to try and stop Sabalenka, who’s looked almost unstoppable in the California desert so far.
