Sabalenka, Rybakina to Meet in Australian Open Final

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka powered into her fourth Australian Open final in a row with a dominant 6-2 6-3 win over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina on Thursday, in a politically charged encounter.

Top-seeded Sabalenka will now bid for a third crown at Melbourne Park in four years, and fifth Grand Slam title overall, against Elena Rybakina at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.

“I just cannot believe that. It’s an incredible achievement ⁠but the job is not done yet,” world number one Sabalenka said on court. “I’m super happy with the win. She’s ​such a tough opponent and has been playing incredible tennis the whole week.”

Since Russia’s invasion ‍of Ukraine in 2022, for which Belarus has been a staging ground, Russian and Belarusian players have been banned from representing their nations at the Grand Slams and tour events.

Like other players from Ukraine, Svitolina does not shake hands with opponents from Russia or Moscow’s ally Belarus because of the war.

An announcement was made before the semifinal at Rod Laver Arena and a statement flashed up on a big screen saying there would be no handshake, asking fans to “respect” that.

The two players also noticeably kept apart for the pre-match formalities and photos.

Svitolina has been vocal about the strain of playing the two countries’ players, and said she hoped ‍to bring her ⁠nation “light” at the Australian Open after a tough winter.

- News Agencies, Al Jazeera