(No. 1) Aryna Sabalenka def. (No. 12) Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominant run at the Australian Open on Thursday night, overpowering Elina Svitolina in straight sets to reach the final for a fourth consecutive year. With the win, Sabalenka became just the third woman in the Open era to advance to four straight singles finals in Melbourne, joining Evonne Goolagong and Martina Hingis. She has now reached the championship match without dropping a set, matching her title-winning runs in 2023 and 2024, and advanced to the eighth Grand Slam final of her career.

Sabalenka struck first in the opening set, saving a game point at deuce before breaking Svitolina to take a 3-1 lead. After a brief exchange of holds, the four-time major champion applied more pressure on return, earning a second break to close out the set 6-2. Her power consistently overwhelmed Svitolina, particularly in baseline exchanges and on second-serve returns.

Svitolina responded early in the second set, breaking serve for a 2-0 lead, but Sabalenka quickly erased the deficit by winning 12 of the next 13 points to move ahead 3-2. From there, Sabalenka regained full control, breaking again for 4-2 and calmly serving out the match. She finished with 29 winners compared to Svitolina’s 12, landing 67% of her first serves and winning nearly 70% of those points.

Sabalenka will face fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina in the final, setting up a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open championship match, which Sabalenka won in three sets. The top seed is now aiming for her third Australian Open title in four years and her seventh consecutive Grand Slam final on hard courts.

(No. 5) Elena Rybakina def. (No. 6) Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (7)

Elena Rybakina booked her place in the Australian Open final with a hard-fought straight-sets win over Jessica Pegula, surviving a tense second set to advance to her third career Grand Slam final. Rybakina appeared in control for long stretches but was forced to dig deep after missing multiple match points before finally closing out the contest in a dramatic tiebreak.

Rybakina set the tone early, breaking Pegula in the second game of the opening set and riding that advantage to a 6-3 lead. Despite landing just 48% of her first serves in the set, Rybakina was nearly untouchable behind both deliveries, dropping only six points and never facing a break point. Her clean ball-striking kept Pegula on the defensive throughout.

The pattern continued into the second set as Rybakina broke for a 2-1 lead and again for 5-3, putting herself in position to serve out the match. However, she failed to convert three match points and allowed Pegula back into the match as both players exchanged breaks. In the ensuing tiebreak, Pegula earned two set points but could not capitalize, while Rybakina stayed composed, saving both before sealing the match with decisive shot-making.

With the win, Rybakina advanced to her first Australian Open final since 2023 and set up a championship showdown with top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. It will mark a rematch of their 2023 final in Melbourne.