Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka said that an umpire call against her for grunting helped fire her to victory over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a politically charged Australian Open semi-final. There was no handshake afterwards as top-ranked Sabalenka triumphed 6-2, 6-3 to roll into a fourth Melbourne final in a row.
Rybakina in summit clash
She faces Kazakh fifth seed Elena Rybakina for her third Melbourne title. Rybakina fought her way into the title match by downing American sixth seed Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) in a one-hour -40-minute arm-wrestle.
It denied the 12th-seeded Svitolina a piece of history, having been on the brink of becoming the first woman from Ukraine to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open era. Like other players from Ukraine, Svitolina does not shake hands with opponents from Russia or Moscow’s ally, Belarus, because of the war. An announcement was made before the match at Rod Laver Arena and a statement flashed up on a big screen saying there would be no handshake, asking fans to “respect” that. The two players also noticeably kept apart for the pre-match formalities and photos.
There was controversy at the start of the fourth game. With the match on serve, Sabalenka was hit with a hindrance call for grunting during a rally, triggering a long video review and boos. An irritated Sabalenka lost the review and point, but recovered to break for 3-1, hold for 4-1. “That’s actually never happened to me, especially with my grunting,” said an emotional Sabalenka.
‘Wrong call’
“I think it was the wrong call, but whatever. She [umpire] really — how do I say it in a nice way — she really pissed me off. And it actually helps me and benefits my game. I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call, and it really helped me to get that game,” added Sabalenka.
6-1
Aryna Sabalenka’s win-loss record against Elina Svitolina in women’s singles
11
Sabalenka’s winning streak in 2026; she won the Brisbane International leading into the Aus Open
26
No. of singles ties won by Sabalenka in her last 27 matches at the Aus Open. Her only loss came to USA’s Madison Keys in the 2025 final
03
Sabalenka is now only the third woman in the Open Era to reach four consecutive Aus Open finals, after Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Martina Hingis
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