Poland's Iga Swiatek, the world number two and reigning Wimbledon champion, has been eliminated from the Australian Open in a stunning straight-sets defeat to fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina.
The 7-5, 6-2 victory for the Kazakhstani, who made her Melbourne final appearance last year, sets up an intriguing semi-final clash against Jessica Pegula. Swiatek, who was seeking a career Grand Slam with a win at Melbourne Park, had been on a hot streak of form before her unexpected loss.
Swiatek struggled to cope with Rybakina's aggressive playing style, and her serve proved particularly troublesome. The world number two attributed her poor serving to the ongoing preseason training sessions where she tweaked certain shots that didn't quite work as expected.
In contrast, Pegula - fresh off her win over last year’s champion Madison Keys – emerged victorious in an all-American quarterfinal against fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) scoreline. The sixth seed is now on the cusp of her first major crown at the age of 31.
For Pegula and Rybakina, their paths have crossed multiple times throughout their six matches so far, but neither has yet managed to secure a decisive win against each other. It remains to be seen how they will measure up in this upcoming semi-final showdown on Friday.
The 7-5, 6-2 victory for the Kazakhstani, who made her Melbourne final appearance last year, sets up an intriguing semi-final clash against Jessica Pegula. Swiatek, who was seeking a career Grand Slam with a win at Melbourne Park, had been on a hot streak of form before her unexpected loss.
Swiatek struggled to cope with Rybakina's aggressive playing style, and her serve proved particularly troublesome. The world number two attributed her poor serving to the ongoing preseason training sessions where she tweaked certain shots that didn't quite work as expected.
In contrast, Pegula - fresh off her win over last year’s champion Madison Keys – emerged victorious in an all-American quarterfinal against fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) scoreline. The sixth seed is now on the cusp of her first major crown at the age of 31.
For Pegula and Rybakina, their paths have crossed multiple times throughout their six matches so far, but neither has yet managed to secure a decisive win against each other. It remains to be seen how they will measure up in this upcoming semi-final showdown on Friday.
I mean, Rybakina's been playing well, it was just one of those days for Iga. and Pegula's been quietly building up her skills, maybe this is her year 
. Rybakina was on fire out there, that aggressive playing style is just so hard to handle. And Pegula is looking fierce too, I'm gonna have to put my money on her now 
. But seriously though, a 31-year-old finally getting their first major title? That's so inspiring! 
Rybakina just took her down so hard. Guess even the best can have an off day 
. Now we're all about Pegula & Rybakina – those two have been goin at it for a while now... will this be their big match? 
. And what's with preseason training sessions being blamed for everything? 
Can't she just stick to her guns like everyone else?
. The fact that she beat Anisimova in the quarters is awesome, but can we talk about how much of a threat Rybakina is now? 
I mean, they've had these epic battles before, and it's hard to predict who's gonna come out on top... do I think Pegula's got what it takes to take down Rybakina or am i just drinking the Kool-Aid 
but rybakina came out of nowher and destroyed her 
cant say im surprised tho cuz iga had been strugglin with her serve all preseason 
didnt help that shes tryin 2 tweak her shots rn lol wut a risk, right? 
cant w8 to see who comes out on top 
didn't expect rybakina to bring her A game like that 
pegula's win is super impressive btw, 31 and still killing it 
gotta see how she handles rybakina this time around 
like what happened?! i was thinking she was gonna take it all the way to the finals, career grand slam and all that 
anyway Rybakina's serve did seem kinda tricky for her, maybe they shoulda worked on that more in preseason training 
u know I'm hyped for this one Friday 
what happened to her serve? Rybakina totally outplayed her and now it's down to Pegula vs Rybakina - this is gonna be a great semi-final matchup! 
. And now she gets to face off against Jessica Pegula in the semis? That's gonna be a battle royale 
her playing style is like a wrecking ball, can't even see what's coming next. pegula's all americana vibes are cute tho 
and i'm rooting for her to take down rybakina now 
... it sounds like a cop-out to me. Meanwhile, Pegula and Rybakina are already hyped for their semi-final match-up 
]
! Swiatek was serving up a weak sauce 
and Rybakina is like "no cap, I got this" 
!
she's like the queen bee 
! Swiatek needs to revamp her serve (and preseason training) ASAP 
️]
. I think Rybakina played her A-game and made the most of Iga's struggles with her serve 
. On the other hand, Pegula is looking more confident by the minute 