Aryna Sabalenka is the first woman through to the Australian Open 2026 quarterfinals.
The top seed survived a late-stage surge from the 17th seeded Victoria Mboko to convert her fifth match point, triumphing 6-1 7-6(1) in Sunday’s first match on Rod Laver Arena.
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Impressively, the world No.1 won her 20th consecutive tiebreak at Grand Slam level, eclipsing an almost two-decade old record owned by Novak Djokovic who won 19 straight tiebreaks at majors between Wimbledon 2005 and 2007.
“What an incredible player for such a young age, it’s incredible to see these kids coming up on tour,” said the two-time AO champion, who is yet to drop a set.
“(She) pushed me really hard today, super happy with the win.”
“It was quite a fight,” Sabalenka said, acknowledging that her foe made the second set tricky by playing with the freedom of someone with nothing to lose. “I'm super happy that I was able to close this match in straight sets.”
The 27-year-old struck 31 winners to Mboko’s 19 on Sunday, and hasn’t lost a tiebreak at a major since the 2023 Roland Garros semifinals against Karolina Muchova.
“Going into tiebreaks, I try to not to think this is (a) tiebreak, play point by point and I guess that’s the key to this consistency,” Sabalenka said.
Mboko, the first player to make her AO debut as a seed since Emma Navarro in 2024, began the match unfazed despite the occasion. It was her first fourth-round match at a major, her first outing on Melbourne Park’s biggest stage and her first match against a world No.1.
The 19-year-old, searching to become the first Canadian to reach an AO quarterfinal since Eugenie Bouchard in 2015, has had success against reigning Grand Slam champions, defeating Coco Gauff in Montreal last year and Madison Keys in Adelaide this month.
She drew appreciative gasps from a crowd largely unfamiliar with her tennis by producing a stunning backhand winner to take Sabalenka to deuce in the top seed’s opening game, following it up with a searing forehand to set up break point.
But the four-time major champion had other plans. Channelling the tiger tattooed on her left forearm, Sabalenka let out a roar after rifling a forehand past Mboko to save break point. Serving an ace to hold, she roared again.
In the fourth game, Sabalenka earned her first break points of the match against her less experienced opponent, converting one as Mboko sprayed a backhand wide. Moving her rival side to side with her trademark power, the four-time major champion broke again for a 5-1 lead before executing a textbook backhand volley to seal the set.
With an eye on efficiency, Sabalenka placed a perfect drop shot to break Mboko in the opening game. The set was put within eight points of the finish line when Mboko double faulted to hand Sabalenka a 4-1 lead and a cushion of a double break.
With her back to the wall, Mboko’s powerful groundstrokes began to wrongfoot Sabalenka. Facing two break points, the top seed sprayed a backhand long to hand one break back, causing Canadian fans to leap to their feet.
As Sabalenka served for the match at 5-4, Mboko was fearless on return. She struck some of her heaviest forehands of the match to save three match points and manufactured a trio of break point chances, converting the third when Sabalenka overhit a forehand.
Suddenly back in the set, Mboko served up a double fault but rather than letting it rattle her, reeled off a backhand winner and an ace to hold.
Trailing Mboko at 5-6, Sabalenka was two points away from a third set but dug deep to deliver a pair of huge serves, ensuring a tiebreak would decide the set.
After securing an immediate mini break, Sabalenka asserted her authority, slamming down an ace and three winners as she raced to a 6-0 lead.
Though Mboko’s booming forehand enabled the Canadian to save a fourth match point, her final forehand of the match sailed long, granting Sabalenka victory as the clock ticked over to one hour and 27 minutes.
The encounter taught Mboko that she can’t get away with hitting short balls against Sabalenka.
“If it's too short, she automatically took advantage of it and wasted no time to completely put me on defence,” Mboko observed.
“From the start, the moment my shot quality wasn't good enough, she was dictating right away, so that's something I (can) work on and learn for the next time.”
By booking her 13th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, Sabalenka has taken a crucial step towards the ultimate prize — having her name engraved on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for a third time.
In Tuesday’s quarterfinal, she will face off against 29th seed Iva Jovic for a place in the final four after the American earned an emphatic 6-0 6-1 win over Yulia Putintseva to secure her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal berth.