Svitolina reaches Australian Open semifinals for first time in her career: match video
27 January 15:13
Ukraine’s top tennis player Elina Svitolina continues to make history in world tennis. On January 27, the Ukrainian reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career, scoring a resounding victory in the quarterfinals over the world’s third-ranked player, American Coco Gauff. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the Australian Open broadcast.
This victory was significant not only for the tournament, but also for Svitolina’s entire career after her return to big-time sports.
Historic victory over Coco Gauff
The Australian Open 2026 quarterfinal match was the fourth face-to-face confrontation between Svitolina and Gauff. Prior to that, the American had a 2-1 advantage in personal meetings. However, it was in Melbourne that the Ukrainian managed to break this trend and take the lead at the most important moment.
The victory over the world’s third-ranked player paved the way for Svitolina to reach her first Australian Open semifinal.
Return to the top 10 after giving birth
Thanks to reaching the semifinals, Elina Svitolina will return to the top 10 of the world’s strongest tennis players according to the WTA ranking next week. She was last in the top 10 in 2021, before taking a break from her career to have a baby.
The Ukrainian is currently ranked 12th, but the updated list guarantees her a place in the top 10.
“My dream after maternity leave was to return to the top 10. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen last year because I stopped playing in September. We trained during the off-season, and I told my coach that I wanted to be in the top 10. That was my goal for the season,” the tennis player admitted after the match.
Who is Svitolina’s opponent in the semifinals
In the semifinals of the 2026 Australian Open, Svitolina will play against the world’s number one player, Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka.
The match will take place on Thursday, January 29.
The history of their head-to-head matches is currently not in the Ukrainian’s favor: Sobolenko has won five of their six matches. However, Svitolina’s current form gives reason to hope for an even fight.
Achievements for Ukrainian tennis
Elina Svitolina became the second Ukrainian woman in history to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open. Before her, Dayana Yastremska achieved this two years ago.
For Svitolina, this is:
- the fourth Grand Slam semifinal of her career;
- her first Grand Slam semifinal since Wimbledon 2023.
The only Ukrainian woman left in the tournament
Svitolina became the only one of six Ukrainian tennis players who did not drop out of the 2026 Australian Open after the first round. Earlier, the following players left the tournament:
- Marta Kostyuk
- Dayana Yastremska
- Yulia Starodubtseva
- Oleksandra Oliynykova
- Angelina Kalinina.
