Aryna Sabalenka maintained her pursuit of a third Australian Open title in four years with a dominant quarter-final victory over teenager Iva Jovic – but third seed Coco Gauff suffered a 59-minute demolition at the hands of Elina Svitolina.
World number one Sabalenka said her mentality is “trophy or nothing” after overpowering rising American star Jovic 6-3 6-0.
The 27-year-old Belarusian has a favourable 5-1 head-to-head record against Svitolina – but she will be wary after the Ukrainian dismantled Gauff 6-1 6-2.
A despondent Gauff served five double faults, made 26 unforced errors, hit just three winners and smashed her racquet in the players’ area after the loss.
Four-time major singles champion Sabalenka has made the semi-final stage at 14 of the past 17 majors she has contested.
She has become only the third women’s player to reach eight consecutive singles semi-finals at Grand Slams in the past 38 years, after Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis.
“I think that it’s unbelievable what I was able to achieve,” Sabalenka said.
“What’s really helping me to be there all the time is the focus that I’m having.
“Focusing on the right things definitely helps a lot with the consistency.”
‘Trophy or nothing’ mentality for Sabalenka
Sabalenka has reached this year’s semi-finals at Melbourne Park without dropping a set, taking her winning streak at the start of 2026 to 10 matches and 20 consecutive sets.
Having lost two Grand Slam finals last year – first in Melbourne and then at the French Open – Sabalenka defended her US Open crown in September and is the heavy favourite to regain her Australian Open title on her most successful surface.
Sabalenka, who has won 19 of her 22 career titles on hard courts, said: “I think every player, when they get to the tournament, is trophy or nothing.
“It’s always in the back of your mind that, obviously, you want to win it. But I’m trying to focus on the right things and trying my best in each match, each point, each game, each set. That’s my mentality.”
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024 but lost last year’s final to Madison Keys
Sabalenka’s quarter-final against the 18-year-old Jovic was played in intense heat exceeding 40C, with the Australian Open’s heat stress scale hitting the cut-off mark shortly after the conclusion of their match.
The roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena as Sabalenka conducted her post-match interview and will stay shut for the day’s remaining matches
Jovic described Sabalenka, who has worked on controlling her emotions on-court to achieve consistency at the sport’s biggest tournaments, as “very inspiring”.
“I think the way she’s been able to use all the negative things that have happened to her and turned them into motivation and fuel to be better is amazing,” Jovic said.
