Elina Svitolina delivered a defensive master class on Wednesday to secure her spot in the 2026 Italian Open semifinals.
The Ukrainian star stunned world No. 2 Elena Rybakina 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, overcoming a barrage of pressure in a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
The theme of the quarterfinal match was resilience. Svitolina faced 20 break points throughout the Rome contest — and successfully saved 16 of them. That comeback allowed her to turn the tide after a dominant opening set from Rybakina, who appeared to be cruising toward a straight-set victory.
Rybakina wielded her trademark power to take the first set 6-2, before Svitolina’s baseline grit and improved return depth forced the Kazakhstani star into longer rallies.
In the second set, Svitolina erased seven break points to force a decider. While Rybakina continued to apply pressure in the final set, Svitolina’s mental toughness proved impenetrable. She eventually converted her first match point to set up a high-stakes semifinal clash against No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Elina Svitolina Matches Serena Williams Italian Open Record
With her latest victory, Svitolina achieved a historic milestone at the Foro Italico. She has now recorded 24 career match wins at the Italian Open, tying legendary champion Serena Williams for the third-most tournament wins.
Only the still-in-competition Swiatek and Victoria Azarenka hold more victories in Rome.
Svitolina, a two-time Italian Open champion, is now through to her first semifinal here since her 2018 title run.
She'll face Swiatek at 2:30 PM ET today, live on The Tennis Channel.
Europe’s clay-court swing is hitting its stride, as the world’s top tennis stars find their footing at this week’s 2026 Madrid Open.
World No. 2 Elena Rybakina landed in Spain on a high after capturing her second Stuttgart Open title in three years, sailing to victory on a straight-set final win over Karolína Muchová.
“Winning a tournament for the second time is something very special,” the 2026 Australian Open champion said in Germany. “It’s such a great tournament, I’d like to come back every year. We players really enjoy our time in Stuttgart.”
Madrid marks the second main clay-court tuneup ahead of next week’s Italian Open in Rome — the final dress rehearsal before May’s Paris Open.
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will make her 2026 clay debut Thursday. The 2025 Madrid Open champion skipped Stuttgart to manage an injury sustained during last month’s Sunshine Double sweep.
“It was really sad for me to skip Stuttgart,” Sabalenka subsequently told reporters. “The ideal plan is to maybe open up the schedule a little bit more to stay healthier, to be more ready to show my best tennis in each tournament.”
Other seeded stars scheduled to hit the court in this week’s main draw include reigning French Open winner Coco Gauff. No. 4 Iga Świątek, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, and No. 6 Amanda Anisimova fill out the top-ranked field.
How to Watch the 2026 Madrid Open
Madrid Open coverage runs through May 2nd, live on The Tennis Channel.
Elena Rybakina started her clay court season with a commanding performance at the 2026 Stuttgart Open. The world No. 2 defeated Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 12 minutes, successfully reaching tomorrow's quarterfinals.
The 2026 Australian Open champion returned as the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix's top seed after skipping last year's competition. While Rybakina chose to begin her 2025 clay season in Madrid, she opted to make Stuttgart this year's first stop.
Rybakina dominated with her serve throughout the match, winning three at-love service games in the opening set. She lost just three total points in her other two first-set service games combined, with the opening set lasting just 29 minutes.
Rybakina targeted Shnaider's backhand to create quick points, often finishing rallies in two or three shots. She sprinted to a 4-1 lead by winning 17 of the first 22 points.
Shnaider performed better in the second set but struggled with double faults at critical moment, ultimately giving Rybakina the decisive break. The Kazakh closed out the match on serve with her signature ace.
"If I do the right things, I think [it's] most important to get, achieve this and somehow to maintain," Rybakina said going into the tournament. "And it's very difficult, yeah, difficult goal. I'm working for it, so hopefully it will happen."
The match marked the first WTA Tour meeting between the two players. It also represented the first time Rybakina faced a left-handed opponent this season, with her last match against a lefty coming against Leylah Fernandez in October 2025.
How to Watch Elena Rybakina in the Stuttgart Open Quarterfinals
Rybakina now awaits the winner of Thursday's match between Fernandez and Zeynep Sonmez.
The Stuttgart Open quarterfinals take the court on Friday at 6:30 AM ET. Rybalinka's match is set to close out the day's lineup at 12:30 PM ET, live on The Tennis Channel.
World No. 4 tennis star Coco Gauff dug deep to reach the Miami Open semifinals for the first time, overcoming a break point in the deciding third set to take down No. 12 Belinda Bencic 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old is now the youngest US player to reach the Miami tournament's semis since Serena Williams's 2004 run, with Gauff looking to right what's been an up-and-down start to the year when she faces Czechia's No. 14 Karolína Muchová on Thursday.
"It just feels like I shouldn't be where I am," Gauff said postmatch. "But tennis doesn't lie, the ball doesn't lie, so I just have to believe myself."
Notably, Thursday's semifinals could impact the sport's live WTA rankings, giving Gauff a chance to leapfrog No. 3 Iga Świątek following the Polish star's historic first-round upset loss.
Should Gauff succeed, it will mark the second downward shift for Świątek during the Sunshine Double, after Elena Rybakina took over her previous No. 2 ranking during the Indian Wells Open.
With her new career-highest rank in tow, Rybakina will enter a Top-2 clash with No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Miami Open's other semifinal, with the pair most recently facing off in three tournament finals: Rybakina topped Sabalenka to win November's 2025 WTA Finals and January's 2026 Australian Open before Sabalenka avenged the losses by downing the Kazakh star in the Indian Wells championship match.
How to watch the 2026 Miami Open semifinals
No. 4 Gauff and No. 14 Muchová will kick off Thursday's Miami Open semis at 3 PM ET, with No. 1 Sabalenka facing No. 2 Rybakina at 8:30 PM ET.
Live coverage of both semifinals will air on the Tennis Channel.
World No. 1 tennis star Aryna Sabalenka is riding high, as the top-ranked WTA star earned her first-ever Indian Wells title with a three-set win over No. 3 Elena Rybakina in Sunday's 2026 BNP Paribas Open final.
With temperatures venturing into the 90s, Sabalenka took the reigning Australian Open champion down 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), avenging both her January loss to Rybakina in Melbourne as well as last year's Indian Wells finale exit.
"I think the whole idea going into this match was to be mentally strong, to stay strong no matter what, to show with the body language that I'm here, I'm fighting," Sabalenka said postmatch. "I'm happy that it really worked."
The 27-year-old now has half of this year's Sunshine Double in the bag, as she gears up to compete in the 2026 Miami Open later this week.
"I'm defending champion there, so I have to bring my best tennis there," said Sabalenka before departing California for Florida. "But with these vibes that I'm taking from here, I think I'll be able to be there and to fight and to do my very best to defend that beautiful trophy."
How to watch Aryna Sabalenka in the 2026 Miami Open
The 2026 Miami Open kicks off with the Round of 128 on Tuesday, which will determine Sabalenka's first opponent when the defending champion enters the competition in the Round of 64.
Live coverage of the tournament will air on the Tennis Channel.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will pursue the elusive Sunshine Double at the 2026 Miami Open this week, after Sunday's dramatic Indian Wells victory over Elena Rybakina.
The Belarusian saved match points to capture the 2026 BNP Paribas Open title, now shifting her focus to becoming just the fifth woman to sweep both WTA 1000 events in the same season. Sabalenka also aims to become the first woman to win back-to-back Miami titles since Ashleigh Barty captured the 2019 and 2021 crowns.
In this year's Miami Open draw, a projected fourth-round clash with No. 15 seed Madison Keys looms large, after Keys defeated Sabalenka in the 2025 Australian Open final.
Florida resident Coco Gauff headlines the hometown hopefuls as the tournament's No. 4 seed, after she exited Indian Wells with an apparent injury. The 21-year-old is hunting her first quarterfinal Miami Open appearance, landing in the bottom half of the draw alongside fellow Floridian No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova.
Gauff's section also features 2021 Miami semifinalist Maria Sakkari and No. 14 seed Linda Noskova, who just reached the Indian Wells semifinals. The US fan favorite could subsequently face No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals, should both players advance.
Rybakina enters Miami seeking redemption after losing the Indian Wells final, with the Kazakh standout reaching back-to-back tournament finals in 2023 and 2024 before falling short both times. She now faces a challenging draw with a potential clash with No. 16 seed Naomi Osaka.
Filipina rising star Alexandra Eala returns as the No. 31 seed, after upsetting then-No. 2 Iga Świątek en route to last year's semifinals.
How to watch the Miami Open 2026
The Miami Open kicks off its Round of 128 on Tuesday, with live coverage on The Tennis Channel.
With the 2026 Australian Open in the rearview mirror, this week's WTA rankings update reflected the season-opening Grand Slam's impact on tennis's top tier.
An exit from the Melbourne Slam's quarterfinals sent US star Coco Gauff skidding two spots to No. 5, as the newly crowned Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina took over Gauff's previous position at No. 3 alongside her second-career major tournament victory.
At the top of the WTA rankings, Australian Open finalist Aryna Sabalenka retained her world No. 1 status, followed by the similarly stable No. 2 Iga Świątek — despite the six-time Slam winner's own quarterfinals ousting.
On the flip side, 2025 champion Madison Keys fell six spots to No. 15, while young Canadian star Vicky Mboko and fan favorite Naomi Osaka each rose three spots to Nos. 13 and 14, respectively.
With Gauff's slight fall, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova now takes over as the top US talent after making her first Australian Open quarterfinals appearance last week.
No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, and No. 8 Jasmine Paolini all held steady, while new-No. 9 Belinda Bencic and new-No. 10 Elina Svitolina became the first two mothers to earn a Top 10 ranking at the same time.
"It's a dream to return to the WTA Top 10," Svitolina said after reaching her first Australian Open semifinal. "Doing it as a mother means so much to me. I'm proud of my fight and resilience."
Elena Rybakina has won a second career Grand Slam, as the Kazakhstani tennis star took down world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to earn her first Melbourne title at the 2026 Australian Open on Saturday.
The tight battle saw Sabalenka respond to her first-set loss by securing the second set before mounting a 3-0 third set — until Rybakina went on a five-game winning streak to regain control of the match.
"The heart rate was definitely beating too fast," the 26-year-old said following her win. "Even maybe [my] face didn't show, but inside it was a lot of emotions."
Along with her $2.79 million winner's check, Rybakina also exits the season's first Slam with a promotion in the WTA standings, with the previous No. 5 securing the world No. 3 spot on Monday.
Her latest Grand Slam trophy now joins the Wimbledon hardware Rybakina won in 2022, while Saturday's title match leaves Sabalenka with a 4-4 all-time record in major tournament finals — including back-to-back Australian Open losses.
"I played great until [a] certain point, and then I couldn't resist that aggression that she had on court today," Sabalenka said after the defeat.
"Today I'm a loser, maybe tomorrow I'm a winner," the 27-year-old continued. "Hopefully I'll be more of a winner this season than a loser."
How to watch Rybakina & Sabalenka on the next 2026 WTA Tour stop
Tennis's top stars will return to action at next week's Qatar Open, with US standout No. 4 Amanda Anisimova defending her title when the WTA 1000 tournament hits the hardcourt on Sunday.
The 2026 Qatar Open will air live on the Tennis Channel.
Aryna Sabalenka is one match away from her third Australian Open title after the world No. 1 tennis star took down Ukraine's No. 12 Elina Svitolina in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) in the 2026 tournament's semifinals on Thursday.
Entering her fourth straight Australian Open final, the 27-year-old Belarusian initially won the Melbourne Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 before dropping the 2025 final to US star No. 9 Madison Keys.
"The job is not done yet," Sabalenka said following her Thursday semifinal win.
Now hunting a fifth career Grand Slam victory after claiming a second consecutive US Open title last September, Sabalenka will face Kazakhstan's No. 5 Elena Rybakina in Saturday's final, after the 2022 Wimbledon champ downed No. 6 Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6(7) in Thursday's first match.
"It got very tight. I stayed there," the 26-year-old said after defeating the last-standing US star. "I was fighting for each point."
Notably, Saturday's final will also be a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open championship clash in which Sabalenka staged a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory.
Even more, though Sabalenka holds the all-time edge with an 8-6 career record against Rybakina, the Kazakhstani star has won six of the pair's last 10 meetings — including a dominant 6-3, 7-6(0) upset victory to take the 2025 WTA Finals title in November.
How to watch the 2026 Australian Open final
The 2026 Australian Open final between No. 1 Sabalenka and No. 5 Rybakina kicks off at 3:30 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on ESPN.
The 2026 Australian Open semifinals are set, after a round of quarterfinals teeming with upsets sent three top seeds packing.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff opened the floodgates early Tuesday morning, falling to No. 12 Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-2, as the 31-year-old Ukrainian advanced to her first-ever Australian Open semifinal.
Gauff wasn't the round's only victim, however, as No. 2 Iga Świątek saw her career slam dreams deferred at the hands of No. 5 Elena Rybakina in a 7-5, 6-1 Tuesday evening result.
The Melbourne Grand Slam's US contingent ultimately dwindled from four quarterfinalists down to one on Tuesday night, when No. 6 Jessica Pegula ousted fellow US star No. 4 Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-6(1) to reach her first-ever Australian Open semifinal.
"It's awesome," the 31-year-old said after the win. "I feel like I play really good tennis here…. I've been waiting for the time when I can break through."
Only No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided falling to a lower seed, defeating US teenager No. 27 Iva Jović in tidy fashion 6-3, 6-0 on Monday.
How to watch the 2026 Australian Open semifinals
The 2026 Australian Open semis start at 3:30 AM ET on Thursday, with No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka facing No. 12 Elina Svitolina before No. 6 Jessica Pegula takes on No. 5 Elena Rybakina in the following match.
Both semifinals will air live on ESPN.