Seventh career meeting for a spot in the women’s singles final.
Top seed and reigning finalist Aryna Sabalenka will contest a mammoth semifinal duel at the Australian Open 2026 against No. 12 seed Elina Svitolina on Thursday. The World No. 1 is a two-time champion at Melbourne Park, and is hungry to regain her lost crown. Meanwhile, her Ukrainian counterpart ousted the American powerhouse Coco Gauff in the last eight. While Sabalenka has the edge in the rivalry, anything can happen on the grandest stage of them all. The winner of this semifinal will face either Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula in Saturday’s showpiece event.
It has been a practically flawless fortnight for four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka. After winning the Brisbane International before coming here, the 27-year-old has brushed aside her opponents to reach this stage without dropping a set. Sabalenka has a 71% success rate throughout the course of her career, including 22 singles championships along the way. The Belarusian captured four titles in 2025 and is the reigning US Open champion.
Elina Svitolina has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world. With straight sets victories over the likes of Diana Shnaider, Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff, there are no surprises that the 31-year-old will re-enter the Top-10 next week. Svitolina also added a trophy to her cabinet before entering the Happy Slam – winning the ASB Classic in Auckland as the top seed. She has 529 wins and 273 losses in her singles stint on the WTA Tour. Yet, the Ukrainian’s inferior record vs Sabalenka will leave her as the underdog on Thursday.
According to the tennis betting odds on BetMGM, Aryna Sabalenka is the favorite to enter another Australian Open final at -375 odds. Elina Svitolina is a strong underdog with unfavorable odds of +295 on the BetMGM moneyline. Here’s how we are betting on the Sabalenka vs Svitolina semifinal at the Australian Open 2026, including our best bets, supporting odds and a set-score prop for bigger prices.
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Tournament & Round: Australian Open 2026, Semifinal
Surface: Outdoor Hard Court
Format: Women’s Singles, Best of Three Sets
Date & Start Time: January 29, 19:30 Local
Court: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Best Bet: Aryna Sabalenka to Win 2-0 @ -124 as per BetMGM
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elina Svitolina Betting Odds
Given below are the latest odds for Aryna Sabalenka vs Elina Svitolina from the top sportsbooks. We are looking at the match money line, game handicap and total games, plus some set betting markets where available.
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Aryna Sabalenka vs Elina Svitolina Predictions & Picks
Our Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to Win By 2-0 at -124
In the overall context, betting on this encounter is not going to yield overly profitable gains. Unless one is willing to place a long shot bet on the handicaps, this is a low risk low reward match-up. Sabalenka is the clear favorite to win in straight sets in the BetMGM and FanDuel markets. The Playoffs News prediction is not far behind, as we sense a mismatch in level when it comes to the two competitors.
Sabalenka has a significantly higher average speed on the forehand and backhand wings. In her last match, the World No. 1 produced an 84% win ratio on first serve. Svitolina’s game style was conducive to an opponent like Gauff, who likes to sit back and force the other player to make mistakes. But against Sabalenka, the World No. 12 will have minimal time and room for error. With the implied probability favoring the two-time champ at over 75%, a straight sets win to Sabalenka is the best bet.
Aryna Sabalenka Recent Form
Brisbane International 2026: Winner
WTA Finals 2025: Final
Wuhan Open 2025: Semifinal
US Open 2025: Winner
Cincinnati Open 2025: Quarterfinal
Elina Svitolina Recent Form
ASB Classic 2026: Winner
BJK Cup Finals 2025: Round Robin
US Open 2025: Round of 128
Cincinnati Open 2025: Round of 64
National Bank Open 2025: Quarterfinal
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elina Svitolina Head to Head Record
Aryna Sabalenka leads the head-to-head against Elina Svitolina by 5-1. This includes one previous encounter at the Grand Slam level, and a solitary battle in 2025. Svitolina’s one and only victory over the tigress came in 2020 at Strasbourg.
Event
Round
Winner
Score
2025 Madrid
Semifinal
Aryna Sabalenka
6-3 7-5
2024 Cincinnati
Round of 16
Aryna Sabalenka
7-5 6-2
2024 Rome
Round of 16
Aryna Sabalenka
4-6 6-1 7-6(7)
2023 Roland Garros
Quarterfinal
Aryna Sabalenka
6-4 6-4
2020 Strasbourg
Semifinal
Elina Svitolina
6-2 4-6 6-4
2018 Wuhan
Round of 32
Aryna Sabalenka
6-4 2-6 6-1
How to Watch Aryna Sabalenka vs Elina Svitolina at the Australian Open 2026?
The Australian Open 2026 can be viewed live on a variety of streaming platforms and TV channels across the world. This includes Tennis Channel, Stan Sport, ESPN International, TSN, beIN Sports, SuperSport, Canal+, Sony Sports, Eurosport and TNT Sports – depending on where you are watching from.
Date
January 29, 2026
Time
19:30 Local
Tournament
Australian Open 2026, Semifinal
Surface
Outdoor Hard Court
Court
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
TV/Streaming
Tennis Channel, Stan Sport, ESPN International, TSN, beIN Sports, SuperSport, Canal+, Sony Sports, Eurosport, TNT Sports
A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.
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