Australian Open 2026 results: Iga Swiatek loses to Elena Rybakina as first career Grand Slam attempt ends in Melbourne
Iga Swiatek’s bid to complete a career Grand Slam at this year’s Australian Open was ended in the quarter-finals by fifth seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
Defending Wimbledon champion Swiatek lost 7-5 6-1 as Rybakina used her power to inflict devastating blows.
At 24, Swiatek is already considered one of the greats, having won six Grand Slam titles on all three different surfaces.
Her performance on Wimbledon grass last year – considered her weakest surface – opened the door to her attempt in Melbourne to become the sixth woman in the Open era to win all four Grand Slams.
Ahead of the competition, Swiatek admitted the achievement would be a “dream come true” but insisted she was blocking out the noise surrounding it.
From the evidence she showed in the first four rounds, it never really felt like she was going to sweep the field this year.
Swiatek’s serve has been inconsistent, and Melbourne Park’s fast courts have historically caused problems against aggressive opponents.
That was always going to be a bad combination for 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina, who ruthlessly dominated Wednesday’s match.
The 26-year-old Rybakina failed to find her serving rhythm in the first set, and the two broke serve alternately.
A low first-server percentage of 41% is unusual, but she has enough groundball speed and aggression to get at Swiatek.
This was proven in the crucial Game 12. Rybakina fought back from 0-30, drawing distance from Swiatek’s shot and winning the opening game with an explosive winner.
Rybakina’s momentum remained strong and she immediately took control of the second set.
Swiatek was unable to solve the problem she faced as her landing balls continued to fly across the court in 22C clear weather after Tuesday’s heatwave.
