MELBOURNE – Belarusian world number one Aryna Sabalenka crushed Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in a politically charged Australian Open semi-final on Thursday and faces Elena Rybakina for a third Melbourne title.
There was no handshake after Sabalenka dismantled Svitolina 6-2, 6-3, before Kazakhstan’s Rybakina was also a straight-sets winner, over Jessica Pegula of the United States.
The ruthless Sabalenka will take some stopping as she pursues a third Melbourne crown in four years.
She is on an 11-match win streak this year, having come into the first major of 2026 on the back of claiming the title in Brisbane.
The hard-hitting 27-year-old is into her fourth Australian Open final in a row and yet to drop a set all year.
Sabalenka and Moscow-born fifth seed Rybakina have met 14 times, with the Belarusian winning eight of them.
That includes the Melbourne final in 2023, when Sabalenka fought back to win in three sets.
Ahead of her semi-final clash with 12th seed Svitolina, an announcement was made at Rod Laver Arena that there would be no handshake afterwards, asking fans to “respect” that.
Like other players from Ukraine, Svitolina does not shake hands with opponents from Russia or Moscow’s ally Belarus because of the war.
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