Olympic bronze medalist Elina Svitolina (12th in the world), who defeated Russia's second-ranked player Diana Schneider and the strongest tennis player of the aggressor country, Mirra Andreeva, set her best achievement at the Australian Open with a total prize fund of $77 million, earning her first ticket to the semifinals of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne.
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In the quarter-final match, the strongest tennis player in Ukraine sensationally defeated the winner of the 2023 US Open and 2025 Roland Garros, 21-year-old American Coco Gauff (3rd) in two sets in 59 minutes — 6:1, 6:2, increasing her winning streak in 2026 to 10 matches.
By the way, immediately after the victory, Elina, who will return to the top ten of the world ranking for the first time as a mother, wrote on the TV camera: “Ukraine is for you.”
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The first-ever semifinal appearance at the Australian Open (the 31-year-old from Odessa previously reached the quarterfinals in 2018, 2019, and 2025) brought Svitolina 780 rating points and $862,500 in “dirty” money. The Ukrainian will challenge for a spot in the Australian Open final in a match with the world's top seed, “neutral” Arina Sobolenko from Belarus, who defeated 18-year-old American Iva Jovic (29th) 6:3, 6:0.
The other pair of semifinalists of the tournament will be determined in the matches between Iga Swiontek (Poland, 2nd) and Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan, 5th) and Jessica Pegula (USA, 6th) and Amanda Anisimova (USA, 4th).
Previously, “FACTS” reported that Svitolina defeated Spaniard Buksha at the start of the Australian Open.
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Photo by Jimmie48