Elena Rybakina advanced to the final of the 2026 Australian Open after defeating Jessica Pegula in the second semi-final on Thursday 29 January at Rod Laver Arena. Rybakina claimed a comfortable 6-3, 7-6 (7) win in straight sets to advance to her second Australian Open final, where she will face world number one Aryna Sabalenkova.
Rybakina started the match in good rhythm, earning an early break in the first set to take a 3-0 lead over Pegula, who looked completely out of sorts at the start. After comfortably sealing the first set, Rybakina looked like she was cruising to a routine victory in the second set as well, but she was tested by her American opponent.
Australian Open 2026 Update
Just when it seemed all was done and dusted for Pegula, she clawed her way back into the match by grabbing a late break. However, this joy was short-lived, as Rybakina retreated and moved to the brink of entering the final.
Despite this setback, Pegula showed no signs of giving up as she earned another break to force the match into a tie-break. The pair once again engaged in a neck-and-neck battle, pushing each other at every point. However, it was Rybakina who finally held her nerve and sealed the match in the tie-break.
Meanwhile, the world No. 5 will face Aryna Sabalenkova in a top-of-the-table encounter on January 31. Rybakina also faced Sabalenkova in her last Australian Open final in 2023, where she was defeated 6–4, 3–6, 4–6. The Kazakh player will now look for revenge against the world number one in the final.
– The end
Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
January 29, 2026
