Aryna Sabalenka Takes a Cheeky Swipe at Jannik Sinner When Commenting on the Open Roof During her Australian Open Quarterfinal

Aryna Sabalenka joked that the women’s players are stronger than the men after playing in intense heat exceeding 41 °C at the Australian Open, the highest since 2009. The Belarusian star’s statement comes after the Rod Laver Arena roof was closed during Jannik Sinner’s third-round match.

Sabalenka has reached this year’s semi-finals of the Australian Open without dropping a set, taking her winning streak to 10 matches at the start of the 2026 season and 20th consecutive sets. The 27-year-old lost to Madison Keys in the final last year, despite enjoying a similar run at the tournament, but won her only Grand Slam at the US Open in September.

She’s a huge favorite to win the Australian Open this year, which will take her major title tally to five, all coming on hard courts. 19 of her 22 career titles have come on hard courts, and she has made it to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam in 14 of her past 17 majors she has contested on tour in the last five years.

Sabalenka’s quarter-finals match was against 18-year-old Iva Jovic at the Rod Laver Arena. The two battled it out in intense heat exceeding 40 °C, the scale hitting the cut-off mark shortly after the conclusion of the match. The roof was only closed during her post-match on-court interview, which was somewhat surprising, as it had been closed at 36 °C during Sinner’s clash against Eliot Spizzirri.

Sinner suffered cramps under the intense heat and was down 1-3 in the third set before the roof was closed. However, he went on to win the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and progress to the fourth round. During Sabalenka’s press conference in Melbourne, she was asked why the roof was not closed, but in Sinner’s match, it was closed at a lower intensity heat scale. She joked:

It was hot out there. I guess yeah, as a woman we are stronger than the guys, so they had to close the roof so they don’t suffer you know?

Sabalenka became the third women’s player to reach eight consecutive singles semi-finals at Grand Slams in the past 38 years, just after Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis. She hopes to win the Australian Open this year as she has already claimed the Brisbane International at the start of the year. However, before the World No.1 thinks about winning the title, she will face Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals.

Aryna Sabalenka eyes the 2026 Australian Open title after reaching the semi-finals

Aryna Sabalenka claimed a 6-3, 6-0 win over 18-year-old Iva Jovic in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Sabalenka overpowered the teenager, who had beaten Jasmine Paolini and Yulia Putintseva, to reach the last eight of the Melbourne Grand Slam, her best run in a major tournament.

During the aforementioned press conference, Sabalenka noted that, having reached the semi-finals of the Australian, it is either the title or nothing. She added that she’s focused on getting better on the court each match:

What’s really helping me to be there all the time is the focus that I’m having. Focusing on the right things definitely helps a lot with the consistency. I think every player, when they get to the tournament, is trophy or nothing. It’s always in the back of your mind that, obviously, you want to win it. But I’m trying to focus on the right things and trying my best in each match, each point, each game, each set. That’s my mentality.

Sabalenka will take on Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals. Svitolina bamboozled Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals 6-1, 6-2 before the American star went to crush her racket. Sabalenka leads the Ukrainian 5-1 in their head-to-head record on tour and has not dropped a set in their last two meetings.

Also Read: Jannik Sinner Promises Not to Use Banned Item Told to Remove by Umpire During Australian Open

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