Canadian tennis player Victoria Mboko (WTA 16) and world number one Arina Sabalenko (“neutral”) Formed the first 1/8 final pair of the Australian Open 2026.

Mboko takes the 14th seed in three sets in the third round of the major Clara Towson (Denmark, WTA 14) In 2 hours 20 minutes.

Victoria managed to participate in the second week of the Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career. Mboko became the first Canadian tennis player to reach the fourth round of a slam since Leila Fernandez at Roland Garros 2022, and the first at the Australian Open since Eugenie Bouchard in 2015.

Sabalenka won the 1/16 final in two tiebreaks. Anastasia Potapova (Austria, WTA 55). In the second game, Sabalenka squandered a 4:0 lead, not serving even once in the match, and responded with a 3:6 tiebreak.

Mboko had never played against Sabalenka before. Also, Victoria has not yet had a meeting with the leaders of the world rankings.

Australian Open 2026. 1/16 final

Victoria Mboko (Canada) [17] – Clara Tauson (Denmark) [14] – 7:6 (7:5), 5:7, 6:3

Arina Sabalenko [1] – Anastasia Potapova (Austria) – 7:6 (7:4), 7:6 (8:6)

18-year-old Russian tennis player Mirra AndreevaPerforming in “neutral” status, he also responded to the words of the Ukrainian football player while answering the question about the change of citizenship at the press conference he held after the Australian Open match. Alexandra OleynikovaStating that Russians and Belarusians should not play at the professional level, he said:

– Last year many players from Russia changed their sports citizenship. What do you think about this and have you considered this option for yourself?

– To be honest, I didn’t even think about it. For example, I heard and saw that Dasha Kasatkina changed her citizenship. Many players have made this decision, but I continue to play as I am now. I didn’t have any suggestions or anything like that, so everything remains unchanged for now.

– Does this increase the pressure to play without a flag and represent a country that has such a policy?

– No, it does not put any pressure on me. I’m just doing my job on the field. I’m focusing on how I can get better, how I can improve as a tennis player. So it’s not a pressure for me.

– A Ukrainian tennis player spoke quite harshly and said that players from Russia and Belarus should not play tennis at all. How do you react to such words?

– I believe that every person has their own opinion. I don’t want to judge a player or person based on what they say. He can have his own point of view and say whatever he sees fit.

They will face each other in the 3rd round of the Australian Open on January 23 Elina Svitolina (WTA 12) and Diana Schneider (WTA 22).

The meeting is planned to start at 10:00 Kyiv time.

Sport.ua together with a betting partner bet announcing the upcoming fight!

Elina Svitolina

Ukraine’s first racquet is having an excellent season; He confirmed his top seed status by winning the tournament in Auckland. Svitolina started her journey in this tournament by defeating Spanish athlete Cristina Buxa with scores of 6:4, 6:1. In the second round, she managed to defeat Polish Linda Klimovichova with sets of 7:5 and 6:1.

The Ukrainian player increased his first serve percentage in the second match compared to the first match: 64% versus 49%. The upcoming opponent for Elina is the toughest opponent of the season, this applies both in terms of ratings and class. Potentially, Svitolina could play the winner of Mirra Andreeva – Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the next round.

Diana Schneider

“Nötrka” has already managed to play in two tournaments this season, looked good and was ahead of its rivals in the top 10. In Brisbane, Schneider defeated another former “neutral” Anastasia Potapova, representing Austria, 6:1, 6:3. And then, in the tough fight, Madison Keys was defeated with scores of 7:6, 6:7, 6:7.

In Adelaide, the athlete defeated the following rivals: Leila Fernandez – 7:5, 6:3, Katerina Sinyakova – 6:1, 2:6, 7:5, followed by a victory over American Emma Navarro – 6:3, 6:3. Only in the semifinals did Mirra Andreeva lose with sets of 3:6, 2:6. At the Australian Open, the tennis player started with victories of 2:6, 6:3, 6:3 against the experienced Czech Barbora Krejcikova. The match against Australian Tallia Gibson was incredibly difficult – 3:6, 7:5, 6:3 and she managed to win three match points in the second set.

Match prediction

As statistics show, the rivals never played each other. The Ukrainian athlete is seen as the slight favorite of this pair. Svitolina is ten years older than him and has more experience.

In such a confrontation, a stubborn struggle that can lead to any outcome should be expected. There is no need to remind how important the match against the “neutral” will be for the Ukrainians. Here I would risk betting more than 20.5 total games for 1.64.

Prediction Sport.ua

Elina Svitolina

01/23/2026 –

10:00

Diana Schneider

Total over 20.5 1.64 place a bet KRAIL License No. 559 dated 12/05/2024

(21+). Participating in gambling can lead to gambling addiction. Follow the rules (principles) of responsible gaming.