Sabalenka storms into fourth consecutive Australian Open semis with crushing win over Iva Jovic

World number one Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominant run at the Australian Open, overpowering American teenager Iva Jovic to reach the semi-finals on Tuesday and move closer to a third Melbourne crown. The Belarusian showed her trademark power and control, sealing a convincing 6-3, 6-0 victory in punishing heat on Rod Laver Arena. The win booked Sabalenka’s 14th career Grand Slam semi-final and her fourth in a row at the season’s first major.


The 27-year-old, who lifted the Australian Open trophy in 2023 and 2024, will next face either third seed Coco Gauff or 12th seed Elina Svitolina as she looks to reclaim the title after last year’s final loss to Madison Keys. Keys’ title defense ended earlier in the tournament following a fourth-round defeat to Jessica Pegula.


"These teenagers have been testing me in the last couple of rounds," said Sabalenka after the win.

"It was a tough match. Don't look at the score, it wasn't easy at all. She played incredible tennis. Pushed me to to one step better level. And I'm super happy with the win."


The match was played with the roof open despite soaring temperatures, with the heat stress level not high enough to trigger closure. The mercury climbed to 38°C during play, with forecasts predicting temperatures as high as 45°C.

For Jovic, the loss marked the end of an impressive breakthrough campaign. The 18-year-old, the youngest player in the women’s top 100 and seeded 29, had stunned seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and overwhelmed Yulia Putintseva while dropping just one game, announcing herself as a rising star.

Against Sabalenka, however, the challenge proved too great. The top seed set the tone early with powerful serving and relentless groundstrokes, breaking Jovic to take control of the opening set. Although the teenager showed flashes of resilience and earned late break points, Sabalenka’s intensity never dipped.

The second set was one-way traffic, as Sabalenka broke early and raced through the games with ease. A series of errors and a late double fault from Jovic sealed the match, confirming Sabalenka’s ruthless form and her status as the player to beat in Melbourne.