Elena Rybakina Dominates Iga Swiatek To Punch Her Ticket To Australian Open Semifinals
There are three things you can count on in life: death, taxes, and Elena Rybakina barely cracking a smile while absolutely dismantling a world-class opponent. On a sweltering Wednesday in Melbourne, the fifth seed reminded everyone why she is perhaps the most terrifying player on tour when her mechanics are clicking.
In a quarterfinal clash that felt more like a heavyweight title fight than a tennis match, Rybakina punched her ticket to the Australian Open semifinals, sending No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek packing with a 7-5, 6-1 victory. For the casual observer, the score line suggests a routine day at the office. But for the first 20 minutes? It looked like Rybakina might have left her game in the locker room.
Rybakina Turns the Tide After Shaky Start
The start was ugly. Rybakina came out of the gate looking a little sluggish, surrendering a break in the very first game of the match. The crowd inside Rod Laver Arena settled in, perhaps expecting Swiatek to engage cruise control and grind the Kazakhstani star down with her signature topspin.
It almost got worse. At 1-1, Rybakina stared down the barrel of a 0-40 deficit on her serve. In tennis, that’s usually the moment where the wheels come off. If Swiatek goes up a double break there, we’re likely writing a very different story right now.
But this is where the “Ice Queen” moniker earns its keep. Rybakina didn’t panic. She didn’t throw her racquet. She just started hitting the ball harder. She dug herself out of that hole, held serve, and seemingly decided she was done being polite. From that moment on, the momentum shifted so violently you could practically feel the wind change inside the stadium.
Serving Up a Masterclass (Even When It Wasn’t Perfect)
Here is the wildest stat of the day: Rybakina only landed 49% of her first serves. In almost any other universe, against a returner as lethal as Swiatek, serving under 50% is a death sentence. It’s a one-way ticket to the airport. Yet, Rybakina made it work. How? Because when that first serve did land, it was untouchable.
She rained down 11 aces, turning service games into blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affairs. Once she leveled the match in the first set, she became a fortress. She lost a grand total of 12 points in her subsequent eight service games. That is demoralizing stuff. You could see Swiatek’s shoulders slump as the match wore on—the realization that unless she played perfect tennis, she wasn’t touching the ball.
Swiatek Struggles To Find Answers
On the other side of the net, Swiatek looked like she was trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube while riding a unicycle. The consistency we usually associate with the Polish superstar completely evaporated under Rybakina’s pressure.
Swiatek finished with 25 unforced errors against just 10 winners. That math simply doesn’t add up to a win in the second week of a major. Rybakina, meanwhile, cleaned up her act significantly after a messy first set, blasting 26 winners past Swiatek’s outstretched racquet.
The rivalry is now dead even at 6-6, but matches like this make you wonder if Rybakina has figured out the cheat code for Swiatek on faster hard courts. She takes time away, she flattens out the ball, and she refuses to let Iga dictate the rallies. By the time the second set rolled around, Rybakina had won eight of the last nine games, turning a competitive tussle into a rout.
What’s Next For Elena Rybakina?
This win marks a return to form for Rybakina, who is into the Australian Open semifinals for the first time since her run to the final in 2023. And let’s talk about the hot streak she is currently enjoying.
She has now won 18 of her last 19 matches dating back to last October. Even scarier? This was her eighth consecutive victory over a Top 10 player. When the lights are brightest and the opponents are toughest, Rybakina seems to get better.
She now awaits the winner of the all-American showdown between No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova and No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula. Whoever comes out of that match is going to have a massive task on their hands. Rybakina is hitting the ball with the kind of easy power that makes tennis look unfair, and she’s doing it with that terrifyingly calm demeanor. If Wednesday was any indication, the rest of the field should be very worried.
