Ukrainian Tennis Star Elina Svitolina Reaches First-Ever Australian Open Semifinal

Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career following a straight-sets victory over world number three Coco Gauff. The quarterfinal match took place in Melbourne on January 27 and lasted just under an hour.

According to Suspilne Sport, Svitolina, seeded 12th in the tournament, defeated the American 6–1, 6–2 in what was their fourth career meeting. Gauff had previously led their head-to-head record 2–1.

Svitolina broke Gauff’s serve three times in the first set and twice more in the second, taking control early and maintaining pressure throughout. She recorded four aces and made 16 unforced errors, while Gauff struggled with 23 unforced errors during the match. Despite changing racket string tensions during play, Gauff was unable to shift the match’s momentum.

Svitolina will next face current world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal. Sabalenka, who competes under a neutral flag due to ongoing international restrictions, has won five of their six previous encounters. Their upcoming match will be the seventh between the two players.

Svitolina’s victory over Gauff follows an earlier win in the tournament against seventh-seeded Mirra Andreeva, also competing as a neutral athlete. That match marked her highest-ranked opponent of the season until Gauff. Svitolina is now on a nine-match winning streak since the beginning of the 2026 season.

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Match statistics show Svitolina’s dominance throughout the contest. She won the first set in just 29 minutes, dropping only one game, and secured the second with a 6–2 scoreline. The match ended after 59 minutes of play.

Earlier, Ukrainian wrestler Danylo Yavhusishyn, known as Aonishiki, became the first athlete from Ukraine to win Japan’s top sumo title, the Emperor’s Cup, after defeating Mongolia’s Hōshōryū at the 2025 Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, Suspilne reported.

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