Elena Rybakina's Wimbledon success last year is helping her to progress at the Australian Open.

The number 22 seed reached the semi-finals after a convincing 6-2 6-4 victory against Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday.

Fresh from beating world number one Iga Swiatek in the fourth round, the only thing that slowed Rybakina down against the 17th seed was a 20-minute rain delay in the first set.

She got through her quarter-final in just an hour and 19 minutes of play, and pointed to her experience at Wimbledon, which culminated in her maiden grand slam win.

"Of course I got all the experience at Wimbledon, and it's helping me now this time here in Australia and I know what to expect," she said.

"For sure it's just easier in this case after Wimbledon. [I am] feeling good on the court and just really enjoying every match I'm playing here."

Rybakina's serve was a key weapon again, hitting 11 aces and winning 76 per cent (29 of 38) of points on her first serve.

She now has a total of 29 aces in the tournament, the most by a women's player and more than her previous three Australian Open campaigns combined.

"[It is] tough to say for me, because I think compared to other girls, I'm quite tall," she said when asked if hitting aces are an under-used part of women's tennis. "I mean, there [are] other girls which are also strong and tall, but for sure I think it's not only about the height.

"I'm happy with my serve. I guess everybody else needs to think if, in this aspect, they need to work more or not, because some girls, they are fine maybe not with the speed, but they have good angles on the serve. They are opening the court. I think everybody is different, and everybody just trying to do what's best for them on the court."

The 23-year-old will face either Jessica Pegula or Victoria Azarenka in the final four, and is excited by once again being included in the business end of a grand slam.

"Of course in the beginning of the tournament, it feels like, 'Oh, it's such a long tournament'," she said. "Now it seems already close. I'm trying to focus just on one match.

"For sure it's close, that's why everybody I think is now going to try even harder, fight for every ball. It's only good players left. For sure it's going to be tough matches."

Elena Rybakina is through to the semi-final of the Australian Open after a convincing 6-2 6-4 victory against Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday.

Rybakina, 25, became the first man or woman from Kazakhstan to win a grand slam when she lifted the Wimbledon trophy in 2022, and she is now two matches away from securing her second.

Against Latvia's Ostapenko, Rybakina had a clear power advantage, illustrated by her 11 aces while conceding only one.

She secured a break in the first game of the match, and quickly grabbed a second to race through the first set in 33 minutes. 

It was Ostapenko who snagged the early break in the second set, but she was unable to consolidate it, failing to hold serve in each of her next two chances to allow Rybakina to claw back in front.

Ostapenko will rue some wasteful play as she finished with more break point opportunities than her victorious opponent, but was only able to convert one of her eight chances.

Rybakina will meet the winner between Jessica Pegula and Victoria Azarenka in the semi-final.

Data Slam: Rybakina adds a new string to her bow

With 29 aces so far, Rybakina leads all women at this year's Australian Open in the category. That figure is a testament to her overall serving improvement, as well as what is now her deepest run down under, with more aces this tournament than her past three Australian Open campaigns combined.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Rybakina – 11/3

Ostapenko – 1/1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Rybakina – 24/21

Ostapenko – 19/22

BREAK POINTS WON

Rybakina – 4/6

Ostapenko – 1/8

Elena Rybakina believes she can become the best player in the world if she performs as she did in the first week of the Australian Open after beating Iga Swiatek.

Wimbledon champion Rybakina claimed the scalp of the top seed on Sunday, winning 6-4 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena to reach the quarter-finals.

Swiatek was in a class of her own last year, winning eight titles – including the French Open and the US Open – to firmly establish herself as the best player in the world.

The Pole was the favourite to win the Australian Open for the first time, but the 25-ranked Rybakina sent her packing to set up a showdown with Jelena Ostapenko.

Rybakina made history with her fourth-round win, becoming the first woman representing Kazakhstan to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

The 23-year-old knows she has plenty to work on, but feels she can rise to the top of the rankings if she continues to improve and consistently match the high standards she has set at Melbourne Park.

Asked if she can be the best in the world when she's at her best: "Every opponent is really tough, and for sure for me I think there are still many things to improve.

"If I perform like I did this week and consistently, I will say that I can be number one, I can beat anyone. For now, I need to find my consistency."

Rybakina felt she was rewarded for taking such a positive approach against Swiatek.

"For sure when you play against the number one player, I think you have really nothing to lose. I knew that I had to be aggressive from the first ball because she's a great mover, and she defends really well.

"So I was trying to just attack her from the first ball, and it really worked well."

Coco Gauff revealed her frustration after her unbeaten start to 2013 was ended as the seventh seed bowed out of the Australian Open to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round on Sunday.

The 18-year-old American came into the Melbourne event fresh from victory at the Auckland Open but had not dropped a set in her three Australian Open victories, including toppling Emma Raducanu in the second round.

Gauff enjoyed a strong 2022 season that included reaching the US Open quarter-finals and finishing runner-up at the French Open.

But on Sunday, 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko triumphed 7-5 6-3 in one hour and 34 minutes, ending Gauff's Australian Open campaign, leaving the teenager in tears as she explained her frustration.

"I felt really good coming into the tournament, and I still feel good," Gauff told reporters. "I still feel like I've improved a lot but when you play a player like her and she plays really well, you know there's nothing you can do.

"I feel like today I would say nothing because every match you play a part in, but I feel like it was rough, so it's a little bit frustrating on that part."

Ostapenko hit 30 winners compared to Gauff's 21, while the Latvian did commit more unforced errors (27-14).

Gauff generated eight break points throughout the match but only took one, while Ostapenko took all three of hers.

"Today I learned a lot," Gauff said. "A little bit frustrated, but I think I'll rewatch and see where I went wrong and if I did go wrong.

"I feel like from the feedback I've gotten that she just played really well today. She stepped up her game when she needed to, and she held and broke me when she needed to, and I didn't do that."

Ostapenko progresses to the quarter-finals where she will take on 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina who knocked off top seed Iga Swiatek.

Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff both got off to winning starts at the ASB Classic in Auckland on Tuesday.

Raducanu had to come from a set down to beat Linda Fruhvirtova 4-6 6-4 6-2, while top seed Gauff had an easier time of it as she dismissed Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-1 on another day interrupted by the rain.

Second seed Sloane Stephens was only able to get through three games before play was suspended in her match against Rebeka Masarova, while fifth seed Wang Xiyu was 5-3 down in the first set against Karolina Muchova when the rain came.

Fourth seed Bernarda Pera is out after her match with Viktoria Kuzmova resumed having being washed out on Monday, and the American was unable to prevent a 6-4 6-4 defeat, with Kuzmova advancing to face Raducanu in the last 16.

The only two other matches completed on Tuesday saw Elena-Gabriela Ruse beat Erin Routliffe in three sets, and Anna Blinkova overcome Elisabetta Cocciaretto, also in three.

At the Adelaide International, Zheng Qinwen earned a hard-fought victory against number six seed Anett Kontaveit, eventually winning 6-1 4-6 7-6 (9-7).

Eighth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova also crashed out despite winning the first set against Marketa Vondrousova, going on to lose 4-6 6-3 6-2, though seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko is through after beating Karolina Pliskova 6-1 6-3.

In a contest that lasted over two-and-a-half hours despite only two sets being played, Victoria Azarenka beat Anhelina Kalinina 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5), and will face Zheng next, while Sorana Cirstea will go up against top seed Ons Jabeur in the last 16 after beating Viktorija Golubic in straight sets.

American teenager Coco Gauff showed why she deserves to be at this year's WTA Finals with a commanding 6-0 6-3 victory over Martina Trevisan at the Guadalajara Open.

The fifth seed clinched her maiden spot at the season-ending WTA Finals on Wednesday and backed that up by securing her third WTA 1000 quarter-final on Thursday.

Gauff reeled off the first nine games of the match against Trevisan, where she triumphed in one hour and one minute. The 18-year-old came under pressure from Trevisan, who generated nine break points for the match but Gauff saved all bar one of them.

World number one Iga Swiatek (47) is the only player to have won more matches this year in straight sets than Gauff (32).

Gauff will face Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals after the Belarusian toppled 13th seed Madison Keys 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 in two hours and 13 minutes.

Two-time Australian Open winner Azarenka swept aside Keys in 32 minutes in the third set after a titanic battle in the opening two frames, winning 26 of the 37 final-set points. Azarenka's quarter-final appearance is her 34th since 2009, with only four players having more during the span; Agnieszka Radwanska (42), Simona Halep (39) and Caroline Wozniacki (36).

Third seed Jessica Pegula advanced to the last eight with a 6-4 6-4 victory over former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. 

The American, who survived three match points against Elena Rybakina on Wednesday, trailed early against the Canadian but took control of the match. Pegula will face Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals after she toppled 2022 US Open semi-finalist Caroline Garcia 7-6 (8-6) 7-5.

On the day her WTA Finals berth was confirmed, seventh seed Daria Kasatkina lost 6-2 2-6 6-3 to Anna Kalinskaya in two hours and 14 minutes.

Fourth seed Maria Sakkari fought back to win 5-7 6-3 6-3 over 14th seed Danielle Collins, while Marie Bouzkova copped a bagel before triumphing 0-6 7-5 6-3 over Liudmila Samsonova.

Sakkari will next meet eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova who beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-4 6-4. Bouzkova will take on Kalinskaya in the last eight.

It was a great day for the highly ranked Americans at the Guadalajara Open on Wednesday, headlined by world number five Jessica Pegula and her 2-6 6-3 7-6 (10-8) comeback win over Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Pegula, who is now locked into the top-eight and therefore will qualify for the WTA Finals, struggled to win points on her serve in the opening set, but raised her 57 per cent success rate up to 69 per cent in the second set, and 66 per cent in the decider.

The American had to come from a break down in the second set to keep her tournament alive, and she will now face Canada's Bianca Andreescu in the third round.

Meanwhile, fellow United States star Coco Gauff was too good for Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto, winning 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 to book a third-round clash with another Italian, Martina Trevisan, who earned her way there with a 6-0 4-6 6-3 win over Katerina Siniakova.

The other two seeded Americans were also successful, with 13th seed Madison Keys coming from a set down to defeat Ajla Tomljanovic 3-6 6-4 6-3, and 14th seed Danielle Collins repelled the challenge of Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-4.

There were positive signs for former world number five Eugenie Bouchard, who ended up losing, but showed she still has her talent by taking a set off world number 23 Jelena Ostapenko in a 7-5 2-6 6-1 result.

Russian pair Anna Kalinskaya and Liudmila Samsonova both emerged in three-set outings, with Kalinskaya outlasting Elise Mertens 6-4 0-6 7-5, while Samsonova upset world number four Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 2-6 6-2.

World number 12 Veronika Kudermetova kept her WTA Finals hopes alive with a 6-4 7-5 win over Donna Vekic, and the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova ousted Colombia's Camila Osorio 6-3 6-1.

In the late window, Sloane Stephens eliminated Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-4, and top overall seed Paula Badosa retired due to injury after losing the first set 6-2 against Victoria Azarenka.

Belinda Bencic fought back to defeat Eugenie Bouchard in an Ostrava Open first-round contest that took over two and a half hours to settle.

Bouchard took the first set, but Bencic came from behind to advance with a 6-7 (7-9) 6-1 6-4 victory on Tuesday.

Eighth seed Jelena Ostapenko, runner-up in the Korea Open, suffered a premature exit as Aliaksandra Sasnovich consigned the former French Open champion to a 6-2 6-2 defeat.

Emma Raducanu also went out in straight sets, with Daria Kasatkina beating the 2021 US Open champion 7-5 6-4.

Catherine McNally blitzed to a 6-1 6-2 victory over Anna Blinkova, while Alycia Parks progressed past Karolina Pliskova to secure the first top-20 win of her career.

Top seed Ons Jabeur swept aside Ann Li with relative ease in a 6-2 6-3 victory at the Jasmin Open to reach the last 16.

Veronika Kudermetova, the second seed, breezed past Varvara Gracheva with a commanding 6-1 6-0 win.

Anastasia Potapova, Petra Martic, Magdalena Frech and Harriet Dart were among the other victors.

Korea Open finalist Jelena Ostapenko was knocked out in the first round of the Tallinn Open after letting a one-set lead slip against Kaia Kanepi.

Ostapenko looked to be cruising after winning the opener, but Kanepi levelled in the second despite the Estonian watching five set points come and go.

Kanepi then romped to victory with a stunning final set to defeat Ostapenko 4-6 6-4 6-0 and keep her hopes of winning her home tournament alive.

In second-round action, Beatriz Haddad Maia is through to the quarter-finals after a 6-1 7-5 success over Linda Noskova.

After Haddad Maia cruised to a one-set lead, the second was a much tighter affair before the Brazilian's class showed as she broke Noskova and then held serve to earn a straight-sets win.

Second seed Belinda Bencic also secured her place in the final eight with a 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 triumph over Katie Boulter.

At the Parma Ladies Open, top seed Maria Sakkari came from behind to beat Arantxa Rus and seal her quarter-final spot.

Rus saved five out of five break points as she won the opening set 6-3 to give her hope of an upset.

Those hopes were soon dashed though as world number seven Sakkari broke twice to take the second set 6-2, before clinching the match in the third to tee up a clash with Maryna Zanevska.

World number 33 Irina-Camelia Begu made it 12 consecutive wins on clay by overcoming Matilde Paoletti in straight sets and will face fellow Romanian Ana Bogdan in the next round after she beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2 3-6 6-3.

Fourth seed Sloane Stephens saw her tournament come to an end after she was defeated by Danka Kovinic.

Ekaterina Alexandrova is aiming high after overcoming some early nerves to beat top seed Jelena Ostapenko in the Korea Open final for her third WTA Tour title.

The 27-year-old prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 in Seoul to add to previous titles won in Shenzhen and 's-Hertogenbosch, the latter coming just three months ago.

Alexandrova is at a career-high 24th in the WTA rankings and is hoping to climb further before the year is out.

"You always want to achieve more. I want to go higher and maybe end the year in the top 20 in the best-case scenario," she said in her on-court interview.

Ostapenko advanced to Sunday's final after Emma Raducanu retired injured in the previous round and was aiming to become the first two-time champion in the event.

Second seed Alexandrova dug deep in the first set by recovering from a break down three times against the 2017 winner before saving a set point at 6-5 down.

The Russian looked far stronger in the second set as she posted her sixth bagel of 2022 to seal victory in a time of 85 minutes.

"I think it was tough for me to start because I was really nervous and I couldn't find my rhythm in the first couple of games," Alexandrova said.

"But the longer we played, the better I felt on the court. I think maybe somewhere in the end of the first set I finally found the rhythm and I just continued to keep it that way."

Emma Raducanu was forced to retire from her Korea Open semi-final against Jelena Ostapenko due to injury, leaving the Latvian to face second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in Sunday's final.

The 2021 US Open winner was featuring in her first semi-final since that fairytale triumph at Flushing Meadows, and took the opening set 6-4 after making a flying start on Saturday.

Ostapenko then fought back to level the match, with Raducanu first appearing to struggle with her movement when she was a break up in the second, forcing her to take an off-court medical timeout.

The 19-year old later retired citing a left glute injury when 3-0 down in the decider, ending her confidence-boosting run in Seoul and teeing up a final meeting between the top two seeds.

Indeed, Alexandrova enjoyed a more routine outing in her meeting with Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria, downing the German 6-2 6-4 to advance to her second final of the year.

At the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, meanwhile, Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen reached her first WTA Tour final with a hard-fought win over world number 13 Veronika Kudermetova.

Having required over three hours to seal her 5-7 6-3 7-6 (7-3) triumph, the world number 36 said: "After the match when I won the last point, the feeling was incredible. 

"The opponent, she's playing unbelievable tennis. She has a really good serve and hits the ball hard, she moves well. It's my first time in the final. I'm so happy."

Her compatriot Zhang Shuai was unable to replicate those exploits, however, as Liudmila Samsonova eased into her third WTA final of the year with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win. 

In-form Samsonova has won both of her previous final appearances this year - each of which came last month - and is 3-0 in showpiece matches for her career.

Emma Raducanu raced into her first semi-final of 2022 by beating Magda Linette at the Korea Open, teeing up a meeting with top seed Jelena Ostapenko. 

Raducanu required just 77 minutes to see off the third seed for a 6-2 6-2 win, dominating from the outset to clinch her first final four spot in any tournament since last year's famous US Open triumph.

Having wrapped up the opener with a fierce backhand winner, Raducanu was forced to endure a brief revival from Linette in the second set, before the Pole was troubled by a thigh injury.

Linette lost 14 of the first 17 points on resumption after a medical time out, struggling with her movement as Raducanu saw out the match.

Raducanu has yet to drop a set during her run in Seoul, but will face a stern test in the semi-finals after Ostapenko overcame 17-year-old Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-2 6-1, setting up a first career meeting between the duo.

On the other side of the draw, Ekaterina Alexandrova earned a hard-fought 7-5 7-6 (8-6) win over Lulu Radovcic, but fourth seed Zhu Lin crashed out to Tatjana Maria, losing 6-1 6-1.

In the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, meanwhile, Garbine Muguruza fell to a shock 6-4 6-2 quarter-final defeat to Liudmila Samsonova, handing the Russian her 16th win in her last 17 outings.

She will meet Zhang Shuai in the next round, after she became the first Chinese player to make the last four in Tokyo since 2009 by beating Petra Martic 7-5 6-2. 

In a battle between the competition's fourth and fifth seeds, meanwhile, Veronika Kudermetova rallied to beat Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-1.

 

Naomi Osaka's title defence at her home Pan Pacific Open event came to a premature end as she withdrew from her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia.

The former world number one, who won the Tokyo tournament when it was last held in 2019, was unable to compete in Thursday's match due to illness.

"I am really sorry that I am not able to compete today," Osaka said. "It's an honour to be able to play at the Pan Pacific Open in front of the amazing fans here in Japan.

"This has and always will be a special tournament for me and I wish I could have stepped on court today, but my body won't let me."

Haddad Maia advanced on a walkover and will next face fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova, who defeated Mexican qualifier Fernanda Contreras Gomez 6-0 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals.

Liudmila Samsonova also progressed to the last eight, with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win over Wang Xinyu continuing her good form.

However, sixth seed Karolina Pliskova exited the competition on Thursday at the hands of Petra Martic, who prevailed 6-3 6-4 and will face Zhang Shuai next.

At the Korea Open, top seed Jelena Ostapenko recovered from two games down in the deciding set to overcome Anastasia Gasanova 6-3 5-7 7-5.

Ostapenko remains on a possible semi-final collision course with Emma Raducanu, who came through 6-4 7-5 against Yanina Wickmayer, while Magda Linette saved two match points to beat Kristina Mladenovic 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.

Naomi Osaka began the defence of her Pan Pacific Open crown with a quick win after opponent Daria Saville was forced to retire in just the second game.

Four-time grand slam champion Osaka won the opening game, before Saville was unable to continue due to a scary-looking injury to her left knee.

The former world number one will now face a second round match with world number 16 Beatriz Haddad Maia, who eased to a straight sets victory over Yuki Naito.

Karolina Pliskova secured her place in the next round in Tokyo with a 6-2 6-1 demolition of Isabella Shinikova, while Zhang Shuai will face second seed Caroline Garcia on Wednesday after overcoming Mai Hontama in two sets.

In Seoul, Jelena Ostapenko's hopes of repeating her 2017 heroics at the Korea Open are still alive after the number one seed narrowly beat 19-year-old Jeong Bo-young.

The world number 19 looked to be cruising after the opening set, but the unheralded South Korean hit back in the second and took it to a tie-break in the third, before Ostapenko's class showed as she won the crucial tie-break 7-2.

Elsewhere, 2021's beaten finalist Kristina Mladenovic saw off wildcard Park So-hyun 6-4 4-6 6-3, while second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova overcame a worrying second set to beat Asia Muhammad 6-1 3-6 6-1.

Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria is also safely through to the second round after a tight 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Eugenie Bouchard.

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