A powerful rivalry: Sabalenka and Svitolina set for Australian Open semifinal showdown

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Naturally there'll be attention on the backstory when Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina meet in the Australian Open women's semifinals.

Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is seeking a third title in four years in Australia, is a 27-year-old from Belarus. She’s popular on TikTok for her humorous posts and dance routines.

Svitolina is a 31-year-old Ukrainian who will be returning to the Top 10 next week for the first time since returning from a maternity break she took in 2022. She reached her first Australian Open semifinal with a lopsided win over No. 3 Coco Gauff, needing only 59 minutes to end her run of three quarterfinal losses at Melbourne Park.

They're both regularly asked questions relating to Russia's war on Ukraine. Both have regularly said they want the focus to be on tennis. Svitolina is trying to bring joy to the people of Ukraine, of course. Sabalenka said she supports peace.

“It's very close to my heart to see a lot of support from Ukrainians,” she said. “So I feel like (I) bring this light, a little light, you know, even just positive news to Ukrainian people, to my friends when they are watching.”

Players from Ukraine don't shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus at the net after matches. It's accepted on both sides.

They're both on 10-match winning streaks so far in 2026 and entered the season's first major with titles in warmup tournaments — Sabalenka in Brisbane, and Svitolina in Auckland, New Zealand, her 19th career title. That was Svitolina's first foray back after an early end to the 2025 season for a mental health break.

Sabalenka, who has 22 career titles including back-to-back Australian championships in 2023 and '24 and back-to-back U.S. Open triumphs in 2024 and last year, is 5-1 in career meetings with Svitolina. She is into the final 4 at a major for the 14th time, and has made the final seven times.

“It's no secret that she’s a very powerful player. I watched a little bit of her (quarterfinal) match. She was playing great tennis, and I think, the power on all aspects of her game is her strengths,” Svitolina said of Sabalenka. “She’s very consistent. For me, I’ll have to ... try to find the ways and the little holes, little opportunities in her game.

“When you play the top players, you have to find these small opportunities and then be ready to take them.”

Svitolina is playing her fourth semifinal at a major — 2019 and 2023 at Wimbledon and the 2019 U.S. Open — and aiming for her first final.

Sabalenka played her quarterfinal against 18-year-old Iva Jovic before the searing heat forced organizers to close the roof of the Rod Laver Arena stadium on Tuesday. She was long gone before Svitolina and Guaff played under the roof at night. At that stage, she didn't know who she'd next be playing, but was sure “it's going to be a battle.”

“Because whoever makes it there, it’s an incredible player,” she said. “I think my approach going to be the same. Doesn’t matter who I’m facing.

“I’ll just go, and I’ll be focused on myself and on my game.”

Sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula completed the final 4 when she held off fellow American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-6 (1) to move into a semifinal against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Pegula beat 2025 champion Madison Keys in the previous round before ending Anisimova's run of back-to-back Grand Slam finals.

The sixth-seeded Pegula is hoping to emulate Keys’ run here last year and claim her maiden Grand Slam title in Australia.

“I’ve been waiting for the time when I can kind of break through,” Pegula said. “I feel like I really play some good tennis here and I like the conditions.”

With a 7-5, 6-1 victory in the center court opener Wednesday, Rybakina, the 2023 Australian Open runner-up, ended No. 2-ranked Iga Swiatek's bid to complete a career Grand Slam — at least for this year.

Rybakina, who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan, said she'd focus on the lessons she'd taken from previous trips to the deciding end of the majors.

“Now I’m more calm. In the beginning, when it’s the first final and you go so far in the tournament, of course you are more emotional,” she said. “Now I feel like I’m just doing my job, trying to improve each day. So it’s kind of another day, another match.”

Elena Rybakina, right, of Kazakhstan is congratulated by Iga Swiatek, left, of Poland following their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Jessica Pegula of the U.S. celebrates after defeating compatriot Amanda Anisimova during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates after defeating Coco Gauff of the U.S. in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Iva Jovic of the U.S. in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands gathered in Serbia 's capital on Tuesday accusing the government of a crackdown on universities which have been a main force behind a campaign that has shaken autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic 's rule.

Protesters rallied outside the headquarters of the University of Belgrade on what was a national day of education. The peaceful gathering, dubbed “Knowledge is power," was in support of scores of professors and teachers who have lost their jobs or positions for taking part in the anti-government demonstrations.

“No government in our history has treated members of the academic community with such arrogance, vengeance and malice and only because the academic community refused to be silent,” Vladan Djokic, the head dean of the university, told the crowd.

The student-led demonstrations were sparked by the collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad of a concrete railway station canopy that killed 16 people in November 2024. Many Serbs blamed the disaster on an alleged corruption-fueled disregard for safety rules during renovation work on the building.

The national protests have become the most sustained and numerous in Serbia for years, drawing hundreds of thousands of people. Vucic has refused to schedule an immediate early election as protesters have demanded but has stepped up pressure on protesters instead.

The Belgrade rally came days after riot police evicted protesting students from a faculty building in Novi Sad in a demonstration of force against possible attempts to renew university strikes. Dozens of police pushed their way into the faculty building and forced the students out, some of whom accused the police of violence.

Djokic also cited financial and legal pressure from the government on universities as well as frequent attacks on protesting professors and students, who are described by officials and pro-government media as “terrorists.”

He urged his colleagues to “resist the pressure and preserve the dignity of our profession through personal example.”

Earlier on Tuesday, several faculties in Belgrade suspended classes for the day in protest.

Serbia has faced international criticism over reports of excessive force and arbitrary detentions of protesters. Vucic is formally seeking European Union entry for Serbia while strengthening ties with Russia and China amid accusations of clamping down on democratic freedoms.

This story has been corrected to show the first name of the University of Belgrade head dean is Vladan, not Vladimir.

People wave a Greenland and Danish flags during a protest against a government crackdown on universities that have been a main force behind more than a year of protests shaking autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic's rule, in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Led by university students, people attend a protest against a government crackdown on universities that have been a main force behind more than a year of protests shaking autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic's rule, in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)