Elina Svitolina has waited a long time for Melbourne to feel like hers. On Tuesday, it finally did. The Ukrainian shredded a strangely flat Coco Gauff 6–1, 6–2 to reach her first Australian Open semifinal and a fourth Grand Slam semi overall, turning a marquee quarterfinal into something close to a training drill.
For the world No.3, this was a day when nothing worked: the serve misfired, the forehand leaked, and the fight never caught fire. Svitolina, brilliant and unsentimental, took one look at the cracks and went straight through them. The win also sends her back into the Top 10, and keeps her unbeaten in 2026.
A Plan, Executed Without Mercy
Svitolina’s approach was clear from the first game: step in, take time away, force Gauff to hit under pressure. She opened with a break and immediately went after the American’s most vulnerable area — the serve — and even when Gauff briefly responded with a re-break, it was a momentary pulse rather than a shift.
Gauff’s level simply didn’t match the occasion. She didn’t land her first winner until the sixth game, and by then the match was already slipping away. Svitolina held cleanly, broke to love, and ran the first set down in 29 minutes. It felt quick because it was. It also felt inevitable.
Gauff’s opening-set numbers were damning, and the double faults told the story of a player searching for timing. Five of them came in that first set alone, a gift-wrapped advantage Svitolina accepted with interest.
Gauff vs Svitolina – Set One Stats
| Statistic | Gauff | Svitolina |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 0.60 | 1.66 |
| Winners | 2 | 5 |
| Unforced Errors | 14 | 8 |
| Serve Rating | 93 | 235 |
| Aces | 0 | 1 |
| Double Faults | 5 | 0 |
| 1st Serve % | 52% (11/21) | 63% (15/24) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 36% (4/11) | 60% (9/15) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 10% (1/10) | 44% (4/9) |
| Break Points Saved | 0% (0/4) | 50% (1/2) |
| Service Games Won | 0% (0/4) | 67% (2/3) |
| Ace % | 0% | 4.2% |
| Double Fault % | 23.8% | 0% |
| Return Rating | 179 | 354 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 40% (6/15) | 64% (7/11) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 56% (5/9) | 90% (9/10) |
| Break Points Won | 50% (1/2) | 100% (4/4) |
| Return Games Won | 33% (1/3) | 100% (4/4) |
| Pressure Points Won | 17% (1/6) | 83% (5/6) |
| Service Points Won | 24% (5/21) | 54% (13/24) |
| Return Points Won | 46% (11/24) | 76% (16/21) |
| Net Points Won | 50% (1/2) | 100% (1/1) |
| Total Points Won | 36% (16/45) | 64% (29/45) |
| Match Points Saved | 0 | 0 |
| Max Points In A Row | 3 | 8 |
| Service Games | 0% (0/4) | 67% (2/3) |
| Return Games | 33% (1/3) | 100% (4/4) |
| Total Games | 14% (1/7) | 86% (6/7) |
| Max Games In A Row | 1 | 5 |
| Set 1 Duration | 0h29m | |
Brief Reset, Same Outcome
Gauff tried to cool off and reset with a toilet break, but the match resumed exactly where it had left off. Svitolina held comfortably, broke to love again, and ripped off a streak of ten straight points as Gauff stared into her box for answers.
The American did finally hold serve — twice, both in the second set — but it was damage control, not momentum. From 5–2, Svitolina served it out without a flicker, while Gauff’s frustration spilled over at the end, her racket flung down in a blunt summary of the afternoon.
Gauff vs Svitolina – Set Two Stats
| Statistic | Gauff | Svitolina |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 0.44 | 2.29 |
| Winners | 1 | 7 |
| Unforced Errors | 12 | 8 |
| Serve Rating | 288 | 320 |
| Aces | 0 | 3 |
| Double Faults | 0 | 0 |
| 1st Serve % | 95% (21/22) | 76% (16/21) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 43% (9/21) | 81% (13/16) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 100% (1/1) | 60% (3/5) |
| Break Points Saved | 33% (1/3) | – |
| Service Games Won | 50% (2/4) | 100% (4/4) |
| Ace % | 0% | 14.3% |
| Double Fault % | 0% | 0% |
| Return Rating | 59 | 174 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 19% (3/16) | 57% (12/21) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 40% (2/5) | 0% (0/1) |
| Break Points Won | – | 67% (2/3) |
| Return Games Won | 0% (0/4) | 50% (2/4) |
| Pressure Points Won | 33% (1/3) | 67% (2/3) |
| Service Points Won | 45% (10/22) | 76% (16/21) |
| Return Points Won | 24% (5/21) | 55% (12/22) |
| Net Points Won | 50% (1/2) | 100% (1/1) |
| Total Points Won | 35% (15/43) | 65% (28/43) |
| Match Points Saved | 0 | 0 |
| Max Points In A Row | 4 | 12 |
| Service Games | 50% (2/4) | 100% (4/4) |
| Return Games | 0% (0/4) | 50% (2/4) |
| Total Games | 25% (2/8) | 75% (6/8) |
| Max Games In A Row | 1 | 3 |
| Set 2 Duration | 0h30m | |
The Numbers Behind the Blowout
This wasn’t just “bad Gauff.” It was targeted pressure meeting a player who couldn’t protect her own serve. Gauff won only 41% of points behind her first serve and an almost unthinkable 18% behind her second. She produced just three winners against 26 unforced errors, won only two service games, and saved one of seven break points.
The frustration spilled beyond the baseline once it was over. After the 6–1, 6–2 defeat, Coco Gauff was visibly furious away from the public eye, cameras later capturing the 21-year-old venting behind the scenes. Her racket bore the brunt of it, slammed repeatedly into the ground as she tried to release the anger of a performance that never came close to meeting her standard.
Svitolina, by contrast, won 71% of first-serve points, struck 12 winners with 16 unforced errors, and won 59% of first-serve return points and 82% against Gauff’s second serve — a brutal return profile that ensured Gauff was constantly playing from behind.
Next up is the biggest ask of all: world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, with a first Grand Slam final on the line. Svitolina won’t get a performance as obliging as this again. But she won’t need it. Not if she plays like this.