Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elina Svitolina (6-2, 6-3) on Thursday to advance to her fourth straight Australian Open final. While Sabalenka, the favorite to win the tournament, won her semifinal in straight sets, things got interesting early in the match when the chair umpire called Sabalenka for hindrance in the first set, which confused both athletes.
Sabalenka and Svitolina both looked looked around when the call was made, but the four-time Grand Slam champion was downright befuddled when the chair umpire upheld her own call with the help of instant replay.
Aryna Sabalenka received a hindrance call from the umpire during her match against Elina Svitolina at the Australian Open.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 29, 2026
Aryna requested video review.
The umpire says that she made a noise in the middle of the point after her initial grunt.
“You went ‘UH - AYA’… you… pic.twitter.com/6QoJP1i2b9
It's unclear if the Australian Open uses an audio-version of Hawk-Eye technology that you might call Hawk-Ear, but you can clearly hear Sabalenka make a second sound on replay.
After the match she told the press that she disagreed with the call, but used it to her advantage.
Aryna Sabalenka on the umpire calling a hindrance on her during her match against Elina Svitolina at Australian Open
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 29, 2026
“That’s actually never happened to me. Especially with my grunting. It’s so off I think.”
“I was like ‘What? What is wrong with you?’ I think it was the wrong… pic.twitter.com/iTJSd9mxMK
"I think it was the wrong call, but whatever," said Sabalenka. "She really... How do I say it in a nice way? She really pissed me off and it actually helped me and benefit my game. I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call and it really helped me to get that game. So if she ever wanna do it again, I wanna make sure that she's not afraid of it. Go ahead. Call it. It's gonna help me."
Sabalenka will attempt to capture her third title down under in four years on Saturday against Elena Rybakina.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aryna Sabalenka Double-Grunt Call Upheld by Instant Replay During Australian Open Win.
