The Australian Open 2026 has its semi-finalists for the women’s singles event. On Wednesday, January 28, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina and America’s Jessica Pegula won their respective quarterfinals matches and will face off in the semi-finals alongside Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina scheduled on January 29 at the Rod Laver Arena. Meanwhile, the tournament bids goodbye to fourth-seed Amanda Anisimova of America and six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek of Poland.
Fifth seed Rybakina secured a dominant victory over second-seed Swiatek in straight sets by 7-5, 6-1. In the opening game, the Polish star was quick on her feet against the Kazakhstani but failed to secure the advantage with the serve. After an hour, Rybakina got the lead in the first set and went on to comfortably secure the second set with a win.
Expressing her happiness, Rybakina felt that the second set got her the win over six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek. During the post-match interview, the Kazakhstan player said, “Really pleased with the win. We know each other pretty well, and I was just trying to stay aggressive. I feel like in the first set for both of us the? First serve wasn’t working so we were trying to step in on the second serve to put pressure on each other. I think in the second I just started to play more free, serve better and I’m really happy with the win.”
On the other hand, sixth-seed Pegula earned her first-ever qualification in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after defeating her fellow American Anisimova by sets of 6-3, 7-6(1). On three previous occasions, Pegula had only made it to the quarterfinals in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions.
Pegula earned a 4-1 lead in the first set over Anisimova, who struggled in the start and surrendered within 30 minutes. She tried to regain her footing and added three scores by breaking Pegula’s serve to stay at 3-5, but it was too late to secure the lead. Meanwhile, in the second set, both ended in a tiebreak, but Pegula edged past Anisimova, taking the victory and securing a spot in the semi-finals.
The men’s quarterfinals were another major highlight that saw 38-year-old Serbian ace player Novak Djokovic and second seed Jannik Sinner of Italy securing their semi-final spot in the ongoing Australia Open 2026. Novak defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, while Jannik edged past America’s Ben Shelton in straight sets of 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
