Tennis
Sabalenka destroyed Vekic in the Australian Open semifinals and the formidable Lynette
Arina Sabalenka defeated Donna Vekic 6:3, 6:2 and secured her participation in the semifinals of the Australian Open, where the impressive Magda Linet also “fly” and eliminated Karolina Pliskova 6:3, 7:5.
The unstoppable and undefeated 2023 (9:0) Arina Sabalenka also defeated Donna Vekic 6:3, 6:2 and thus secured participation in the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career, but also in the 2nd major series their presence at the US Open last September.
Before the match, Vekic had an impressive 5-1 record against Sabalenka from 2016 to date, but they had never met in a Grand Slam.
The Belarusian finished with 9 aces (9 double faults), made 38 winners and committed 35 unforced errors while ending the quarterfinals with 5/13 break points.
On the other hand, the serve numbers were worse for Vekic, who made 12(!) double faults, had only 26% on the 2nd serve (9/35), 21 winners and 25 effortlessly.
Sabalenka grabbed a break after a difficult hold in game 3 in which she erased three break points from Vekic and took a 3-1 lead, but Vekic responded immediately (3-2).
The consecutive double mistakes and also the problematic 2nd serve by Vekic was then punished by Sabalenka with the No. 5 in the world to 5:3 and a little later to 6:3 to 1:0.
The 2nd leg of the quarterfinals was easier for the Belarusian, who broke her opponent’s serve three times to go 5-1 just after the big semifinal qualifier.
There she meets the pleasant surprise of the tournament, Magda Linet, in which the 320-year-old Pole defeats Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 7-5.
The impressive Lynette flew into the semifinals
Magda Linet’s Melbourne dream continues as the 30-year-old Pole also eliminated Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 7-5 in 87 minutes to reach a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time in her career.
What if world No. 1 Iga Sfiodek left Melbourne early? Poland continues to have a representative on the women’s board, from a tennis player who had her best grand slam run of 6 appearances in the 3rd up to and ahead of the 111th Australian Open 2021), Wimbledon (2019, 2021) and US Open (2020) .
The World No. 45 Pole once again relied on her defensive play, with Pliskova seeking two and three extra strikes to clinch the point.
On the other hand, the former Czech, world No. 1, seemed to lose her temper easily, also breaking out in her racquet, she had big problems on the 2nd serve (29%), falling into 7 double faults in the process. She also had easily 20 points more than her opponent (36-16).
The game started possibly perfectly for the 2019 semi-finalist who found a break in Linet’s first service game (1-0) which the Pole not only recaptured immediately but also found another to take the opener 6 -3 after 35 minutes.
In the second set, Pliskova threatened to break again, but this time Linet managed to intercept it, erasing both of the Czech’s break points and equalizing to make it 2-2. Two big holds followed from Pliskova, who deleted a triple break point (0/40) in game 5 while deleting three more in game 7 to take a 4-3 lead.
What she failed to do in that time, the Pole did in the 11th game with a 6-5 lead, but also with the balls in hand to end the match, which she did and achieved the biggest win of her career.
In the semifinals on Thursday (January 26) in the last game in the Rod Laver Arena, Lynette will face Arina Sabalenka, who shortly afterwards defeated Donna Vekic 6:3, 6:2.
Source: Tennis24
Source: sport 24
January 25 Ukraine Elina Svitolina won against Mirra Andreeva In the 1/8 final at the Australian Open.
Elina won in two sets with scores of 6:2 and 6:4 in 1 hour 24 minutes. Svitolina faced Andreeva for the second time and defeated the Russian for the first time.
The best moments of tennis matches LIVE on Telegram channel Tennis on Sport.ua
Spor.ua invites you to familiarize yourself with the photo gallery of the confrontation between Svitolin and Andreev!
Elina will compete against world number three Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
🏆 Australian Open 2026. 1/8 final
Elina Svitolina [12] – 🏳️ Mirra Andreeva [8] – 6:2, 6:4
PHOTOGRAPH. He pushed another Russian woman away. How it happened: Svitolina beat Andreeva
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
January 25, Australian Open 2026 Ukrainian youth started.
In the main draws of the competition, Ukraine is represented by one tennis player and three tennis players: Nikita Belozertsev, Antonina Sushkova, Sofia Belinskaya and Polina Sklyar.
All four Ukrainian teenagers won their starting matches and advanced to the 1/16 final.
Australian Open 2026. Youth
R1: Nikita Belozertsev [6] – Aaro Gabet [Q] – 6:4, 6:1
R2: Nikita Belozertsev [6] – Vihaan Reddy
R1: Antonina Sushkova – Zhang Qian Wei – 7:6 (7:1), 6:4
R2: Antonina Sushkova – Ellen Hirschi
R1: Polina Sklyar [Q] – Teresa Germanova – 6:4, 6:2
R2: Polina Sklyar [Q] – Ksenia Efremova [3]
R1: Sofia Belinskaya – Emily Chen [WC] – 6:3, 6:4
R2: Sofia Belinskaya – Maia Ilinka Burcescu
Nikita Belozertsev and Polina Sklyar performed in the doubles tournament on Sunday. Unfortunately, no one made it to the second round.
Antonina Sushkova and Sofia Belinskaya will also compete in the girls’ doubles category; They will face each other in the first round.
Australian Open 2026. Couples. Youth
Nikita Belozertsev / Jamie Mackenzie- Ymerali İbrahimi / Cooper Pouch [WC] – 6:7 (6:8), 6:4, [5:10]
Polina Sklyar / Aishi Das- Mariella Tamm / Zhang Rui’en [6] – 5:7, 7:6 (7:2), [6:10]
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina She held a press conference after defeating Mirra Andreeva in the 1/8 final of the Australian Open 2026:
– Elina, congratulations on reaching the quarter-finals here for the fourth time. What does it feel like?
– Yeah, that’s great. Another chance to play in the semi-finals. But I am very happy with the match, and I am also very happy with my performance today. I think I implemented the plan well. I am very pleased with the result.
– Your next opponent will be Coco. If we talk about the preparations for this match in terms of temperature, I believe that the conditions will be similar to yesterday, at the same temperature. I know you don’t know when and where you’ll play yet. How do you prepare for conditions where temperatures will be very high?
– I didn’t actually think about it. I tried to prepare for today’s match. Someone told me a few days ago that it would be hot on Tuesday. So I’ll have to prepare. I think the preparations will start tomorrow with fluid intake and trying to stay calm. I think it’s important to prepare as much as you can, but we’ll both be in the same conditions. It is important to use tomorrow just to rest and prepare for this intense heat.
– You had incredible matches with Coco. What are your expectations and what do you need to do to reach your target semi-final?
– I need to discuss the plan with the coach and understand how to implement it. We had difficult matches, the last two I think were in three sets. We made the final in Auckland and the US Open a few years ago. We know each other’s game well. It is important to work on some points tomorrow, meet with the coach and be prepared for extreme heat. We will play not only against each other, but also against the conditions in which we will have to play in the heat.
– Is it more convenient for you to play in the daylight or under the roof?
– Of course, it’s better to play later. But I don’t decide the program. Maybe one match will be in the afternoon and the other in the evening. In the evening the weather is more pleasant, although the ball will still fly faster due to the heat, but in general everything will be fine.
– Considering the previous three quarter-finals, what does it mean to you to reach the semi-finals?
“Of course it means a lot to me, but I don’t want to think about it too much.” This is another opportunity to go far in the tournament. I want to focus on recovery and the game plan I need to execute well. These are my priorities now. If everything goes well, we will have a chance to win the next match.
– What gives you the confidence that you can take your game a step or two further?
– We did our pre-season preparations well. We worked on a lot of things on tactical issues. It was important to analyze what went well in 2025 and understand what could be improved and how. We worked with statistics, looked at where I could improve my serving, receiving and other aspects of the game. It opened my eyes to some things that I continue to work on. Everything is going well but the year is long, we have to keep going. The main priority is to stay in shape.
We made our pre-season preparations well. We worked on a few things. We worked on many tactical issues. It was important for me in 2025 to analyze what I did well and try to find where and how I could improve; We noticed a few tactical points. We worked with statistics to understand where I could improve my serving, receiving and overall game. It’s really opened my eyes to some things and I’m trying to work on them. I think it’s working so far but it’s been a long year so I need to keep going. I think the priority is still to stay fit.
– In your match against Mirra today, you won 15 of 20 points on her second serve – 75%. Was this planned? How much did that help you win in straight sets?
“It was important for me to apply pressure. Because if I let him get ahead in the rally, he can hit the ball very well to score points. He knows how to win matches, how to win tournaments. So for me it was important to try to take the initiative first and find a way to win because he is a very cunning tennis player. He changes the tempo, the length of the strokes. So you have to adapt very quickly and make split-second decisions to go to the ball or direct the ball to the right place.”
– Today Alexandra Oleynikova again commented on the situation with the war and stated that she was not happy that Arina Sabalenka had large advertising contracts. Do you have any thoughts about Russian and Belarusian players, their sponsorship deals and participation in Tours?
“I really have nothing to say about this.” I don’t know exactly what you said, so I don’t know.
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
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