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Elena Rybakina beats Iga Swiatek at Melbourne Park, advancing her Australian Open bid and becoming the only player to defeat Swiatek twice in one Slam.
Elena Rybakina beat Iga Swiatek in the Australian Open quarterfinals (Picture credit: AP)
2023 Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina thrashed Iga Swiatek yet again at Melbourne Park, to push her bid towards a second Grand Slam title, after she bet the second-seeded Pole 7-5, 6-1 in a brilliant show of dominance, halting Swiatek’s bid for a career Slam.
With this win, Rybakina became the only player to beat Swiatek twice in a single Grand Slam event, having defeated the latter at the 2023 edition of the tournament as well.
That year, Rybakina had stunned title-favourite Swiatek in straight sets to move into the quarterfinals. She then beat Jelena Ostapenko and Victoria Azarenka, before falling to Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Meanwhile, Rybakina also became the only player to beat both Swiatek and Sabalenka at several WTA-level events.
Rybakina has been in brilliant form, claiming 18 victories in her last 19 matches. Her only defeat came in the Brisbane quarter-finals earlier this month, when she fell to Karolina Muchova.
Rybakina is into her fourth career Slam semi and first since Wimbledon in 2024.
“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 really working, so just trying to step in on the second serve, put pressure on each other,” Rybakina said after the match.
“I think in the second set I just started to play more freely and served better,” Rybakina added.
The loss denied Swiatek a career Grand Slam, leaving the Australian Open title out of reach. While she has claimed four French Opens, as well as the US Open and Wimbledon, a win at Melbourne Park continues to elude her.
Swiatek and Rybakina had met 11 times before, including five last season, with the Pole holding a narrow 6-5 edge.
However, Rybakina took the last meeting between the two at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Swiatek broke Rybakina’s opening serve, despite the Kazakh managing just one first serve, but Rybakina fought back to level the match.
January 28, 2026, 08:56 IST
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