Australian Open 2026: Ukrainian Svitolina knocks out second Russian and equals her best run
Elina Svitolina (photo: WTA)
Ukraine's top-ranked tennis player, Elina Svitolina, has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after defeating world No 7 and "neutral" athlete Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round. The result matches Svitolina's personal best at the Melbourne Grand Slam.
RBC-Ukraine reports on how the match unfolded and the outcome.
Australian Open 2026, Round of 16
Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) – Mirra Andreeva – 6:2, 6:4
Revenge for Indian Wells
The match marked Svitolina's second career meeting with the 18-year-old Andreeva. Their first head-to-head took place in March last year in the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells tournament, where the Russian player claimed a 7:5, 6:3 victory.
This time, the Ukrainian athlete delivered a convincing revenge.
How the match unfolded
Svitolina played a confident first set, winning it 6:2 in 36 minutes. She seized control after breaking serve at 3:1 and converted her third set point on her opponent's serve in the final game.
The second set began with Svitolina losing her opening service game, allowing Andreeva to take a 2:0 lead. However, the Ukrainian turned the momentum around by saving three break points and then winning a run of games to move ahead 3:2.
Svitolina closed out the match in the tenth game on Andreeva’s serve. Andreeva saved the first match point, but on the second attempt, Svitolina sealed the victory with a clean winner. The match lasted 1 hour and 24 minutes overall.
Svitolina's winning streak
The victory over Andreeva marked several milestones for Svitolina:
- her seventh win over a top-10 player at Grand Slam tournaments (44th overall in her career)
- her fourth Australian Open quarterfinal appearance (second consecutive season)
- an extension of her unbeaten run since winning the WTA 250 title in Auckland
Overall, this is Elina Svitolina's 14th Grand Slam quarterfinal. She will now compete for her fourth career semifinal and her first in Melbourne.
Next opponent: Coco Gauff
Andreeva became the second "neutral" player defeated by Svitolina at this year's Australian Open. In the previous round, the Ukrainian eliminated another Russian player, world No. 22 Diana Shnaider.
In the quarterfinals, Svitolina will face world No 3 Coco Gauff of the United States. The match is scheduled for January 27.
The two players have met three times before: Svitolina won their second-round match at the 2021 Australian Open, but lost to the American in two matches in 2024.
