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Sabalenka Beats Svitolina to Reach Fourth Straight Australian Open Final, Sets Rybakina Rematch

The tournament enforced a no-handshake protocol to prevent crowd confusion in the Sabalenka–Svitolina semifinal.

Overview

  • World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka won 6-2, 6-3 to make a fourth consecutive Melbourne final without dropping a set.
  • Officials announced before play there would be no post-match handshake, reflecting Ukraine’s stance toward Russian and Belarusian opponents.
  • A chair-umpire hindrance ruling on Sabalenka’s grunt awarded a point to Elina Svitolina and drew boos before the top seed regained control.
  • Elena Rybakina defeated Jessica Pegula to book the final, a rematch of the 2023 title match that Sabalenka won.
  • Svitolina’s first Australian Open semi underscores her resurgence and positions her for a return to the WTA top 10.