Fifth seed Elena Rybakina booked her place in the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday with a dominant second set display to hand six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek a 7-5, 6-1 defeat at Melbourne Park.
World number two Iga Swiatek joined a growing chorus of players demanding more privacy off the courts at the Australian Open after cameras captured Coco Gauff in a post-match meltdown that the American said should have been a personal moment.
The WTA has backed players' demands for greater privacy at tournaments after footage of Coco Gauff smashing her racket off court at the Australian Open sparked debate over camera use in player areas.
The opening Grand Slam of the year begins at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Jannik Sinner brushed aside heat concerns to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals, while Iga Swiatek ended home hopes by overpowering Maddison Inglis in Melbourne.
New Melbourne queen Rybakina happy to find highest level again
Iga Swiatek has dismissed suggestions the career slam is driving her Australian Open campaign this year, with the world number two saying on Friday that she tries to block out outside noise and focus only on "grinding match by match".
Jessica Pegula moved into the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career on Wednesday, with a 6-3, 7-6(1) win over fellow American and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova at Melbourne Park.
Iga Swiatek, who beat American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the Wimbledon final on Saturday to win her sixth Grand Slam title.
Tough road for defending champion Keys
Coco Gauff started her quest for a maiden Australian Open title with a straight games win over Kamilla Rakhimova to reach the second round.
Iga Swiatek heads into Melbourne Park with the Australian Open title the only gap on her Grand Slam resume, but the world number two is keen to avoid setting herself targets for the new season and says her main goal is to improve her game.
Swiatek rejects 'Battle of the Sexes' and backs mixed team events
Aryna Sabalenka will aim to take a huge stride towards a third Australian Open title in four years when the Belarusian top seed clashes with Ukraine's Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a semi-final simmering with geopolitical tension.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park in Melbourne on Thursday.
Keys, who captured her first Grand Slam title at the tournament last year, said she was still getting used to the surreal experience of seeing herself immortalised around Melbourne Park.
Top trio eye Grand Slam glory with Sabalenka targeting third Australian Open crown
Poland battled past Switzerland 2-1 in the United Cup final on Sunday to banish the pain of title-round defeats in the previous two editions and secure a long-awaited maiden triumph in the season-opening mixed-team competition.
While off-court battles over pay and governance rumbled on, opportunities were scarce beyond the duopoly at the top of the men's game, leaving Djokovic to provide the year's standout moments for the chasing pack.
Elena Rybakina stayed unbeaten at the WTA Finals in Riyadh with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over second alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova on Wednesday after Madison Keys withdrew from their final round robin meeting with illness and Mirra Andreeva was not fit to play.
Aryna Sabalenka exemplified consistency in 2025 and arrives for the November 1-8 tournament having retained her US Open title in September, after finishing runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Coco Gauff at Roland Garros.
Slovenia will face hosts India on Saturday, and a win will earn the former a ticket to next year's Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers.
Elena Rybakina qualified for the WTA Finals' last four, beating an error-prone Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 on Monday, while Amanda Anisimova beat fellow American Madison Keys 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Riyadh.
Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to beat Russian fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 and win the Ningbo Open title on Sunday, as her late surge to reach next month's WTA Finals gained momentum.
Iga Swiatek captured her first Cincinnati Open title on Monday by beating Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.
Six weeks ago Amanda Anisimova couldn't win a single game against Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final. On Wednesday the American beat the Polish second seed in straight sets.
The world number closed out the victory despite a few service wobbles late on, improving her win-loss record against Rybakina to 8-5.
Naomi Osaka produced a commanding performance to knock out third seed Coco Gauff.
India and the UK have announced a series of defence cooperation initiatives, including a USD 468 million deal for the supply of lightweight multirole missile systems to enhance India's air defence capabilities.
Sharing pictures on their X handle, Wimbledon posted: 'Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek share a dance at the Champions' Dinner.'
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka proved a class above American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova to win the US Open women's final on Saturday.
Third seed Iga Swiatek will play against Italy's Jasmine Paolini in her first Cincinnati Open final.
Iga Swiatek arrives at the US Open with her sights set on a seventh Grand Slam title and a potential return to World No. 1 to cap what she calls a remarkable year of redemption following "the worst experience of my life".
Iga Swiatek was the latest top player to suffer an upset loss in Montreal as the Wimbledon champion
Iga Swiatek survived a surprise U.S. Open second-round test on Thursday as men's top seed Jannik Sinner and Japan's four-times major winner Naomi Osaka cruised through.
The 35th-ranked Bencic did not do a lot wrong but was broken twice in the first set and three times in the second as a sizzling Swiatek brought her A-game to what turned into a one-sided contest.
The 23-year-old Pole, who also won the Roland Garros title in 2020, said she was fully aware that perfectionism was a double-edged sword.
Former champion Iga Swiatek kicked off her US Open campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Colombia's Emiliana Arango on Tuesday as the Pole aims to keep her hot streak on track in New York.
Iga Swiatek demolished Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in just under an hour to clinch her first Wimbledon title and fifth Grand Slam crown overall.
Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori retained their mixed doubles title at the US Open on Wednesday, overcoming Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud in the final.
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