Elina Svitolina was keen to accentuate the positives on Thursday night despite her straight-sets defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of Australian Open 2026.
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In Svitolina’s first appearance in the final four at Melbourne Park, the 31-year-old was denied passage to a maiden Grand Slam decider by Sabalenka, who moved through to a fourth straight AO final with a comprehensive 6-2 6-3 win.
Svitolina, though, chose to see the silver lining.
“[I’m] definitely very, very happy with the two weeks here and in New Zealand as well ... it's of course very difficult when you're playing world No.1,” Svitolina said.
“But [I] just want to take positives from the past weeks and the beginning of the year and just carry them through the season.”
Svitolina was left to lament her serve on Thursday, which she described as “not great”.
“To be fair, I thought I was returning today quite well,” she added.
“I think I was returning good, but then her second shot was unbelievable. She was returning well quick, and then she had another punch coming the second shot after her serve.”
While the semifinal exit may sting for the 12th seed for now, making it to the last four is testament to how Svitolina’s game continues to improve.
AO 2026 was the Ukrainian’s 13th appearance at the Australian Open, and she exceeded her previous-best visits to Melbourne in 2018, 2019 and last year, where she made the quarterfinals but lost to eventual champion Madison Keys.
“Of course, when you play players like [Sabalenka], you don't have too much time to waste,” Svitolina reflected.
“I feel I'm in good form, I think I can definitely draw some confidence and look forward to the upcoming tournaments. We're just two weeks or maybe three weeks into the year.”
On her way to the semifinals, Svitolina defeated world No.8 Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round and dominated world No.3 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals, losing just three games. It was the first time since 2019 that she had won consecutive matches against top 10 opponents.
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Since having her daughter Skai in 2022, Svitolina has returned to the WTA Tour in the best form of her career. Her ranking – aside from a steep dip when she took time off for maternity leave – has remained steady, but what’s changed is her style of play.
Traditionally, Svitolina was a player who favoured a more defensive approach. Since returning to the tour after time off, she has evolved into a more aggressive player.
“I think since I came back after pregnancy, for me it's been all about trying to find, you know, those opportunities to attack, trying to also not to rush, because I think I still had some matches where I rushed too much,” Svitolina said after her victory over Gauff.
“But now pretty much for me it's about trying to move my feet well, trying to find the small opportunities to take the initiative and try to strike first.”
Svitolina will take home positive memories from her fortnight in Australia.
“I'm still disappointed that I didn't go further … but I feel like I should not be allowed to really be sad,” she reasoned.
“I have a great position … I have this amazing opportunity to play on centre court here, represent my country, to do it in a decent way, and to have opportunity, you know, to use my words and just be there for my people.
“I feel like for the past weeks, they have been really carrying me through with great vibes, with great emotions, and for me, this is something that really motivates me.”