The Australian Open
AO Women: Day 5 review
Iga Swiatek overwhelmed Spain’s Cristina Bucsa with the loss of just one game, taking just 55 minutes to power into the Australian Open fourth round.
The top-seeded world No. 1 from Poland was untested as she mowed down the 100th-ranked challenger with ease on a sunny day at Melbourne Park.
Swiatek comfortably lived up to historic expectations: the Open top seed has only failed to reach last 16 on one occasion in the Open Era
She now stands 11-2 in Grand Slam third-round matches and will next face reigning Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.
The Pole has been the picture of efficiency, spending a combined time of four and a half hours on court to win three matches – all in straight sets.
Bucsa was playing a Top 10 opponent for the first time in her career.
“I’m more and more confident since day one here,” Swiatek said. “I’m not just talking about matches, but also practices.
“I feel like I’ve done so much work to feel more confident, more relaxed on court. I’m pretty happy that I did it because it’s just a little bit easier.
“When you actually play those matches, you can feel the rhythm a little bit more. That’s what I am most pleased with.”
Third seed Jessica Pegula needed barely an hour to dispatch Marta Kostyuk, despite eight aces from the Ukrainian.
The winner kept her unforced error count to a sparse nine, while Kostyuk had a massive 39.
“The score obviously looked dominant, but there were a lot of really tough games in that match,” Pegula said.
“She can be really a dangerous player. I did a good job of playing every single point, every single game, really tough, not letting her kind of get
any free points or free games.
“I made her really have to earn it today and that paid off.”
Former Roland Garros winner Barbora Krejcikova out a second Ukrainian with her 6-2, 6-3 scoreline over Anhelina Kalinina.
Coco Gauff, the seventh seed, continued to progress smoothly, posting a 6-3, 6-2 win over American compatriot Bernarda Pera.
Unheralded 2022 Wimbledon winner Rybakina reached the second week of the major with a defeat of last year’s Melbourne finalist Danielle Collins 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, who was playing her third three-set match of the opening week.
The Kazakh had the misfortune to win the grass court major at the edition where no ranking points were awarded due to the club’s decision not to allow in Russian or Belarus players over the invasion of Ukraine.
But being relegated to outside courts at the US Open and remaining relatively anonymous does not bother Rybakina.
“I honestly don’t care because it wasn’t easy after Wimbledon with the scheduling, of course.
“In the end I’m here to play tennis. I’m feeling good. So I’m super happy to get through to another match.
“It doesn’t matter which court I’m going to play on.”
Rybakina knows she has a huge job ahead when she plays Swiatek in the next round.
“To be honest, it doesn’t matter which round I play. No matter what, the goal is to beat the top players.
“I think that it’s going to be a tough match. Hopefully it’s going to go my way.”
Jannik Sinner has broken his silence as the end of his three-month ban from tennis nears, with the world No. 1 admitting it will take “a little time to find myself again.”
The Italian gave his thoughts to SkySports Italia as he prepares to resume training in a few weeks with his ban for involuntary doping infractions ending on May 4, just a fortnight before the start of Roland Garros.
Sinner signed an agreement with anti-doping body WADA to serve time away from the sport which he dominated in 2024 after inadvertently ingesting a banned substance off the hands of his now-ex masseur last season.
The player called the entire episode “a little unfair” but accepted an ad-hoc sanction arrangement.
“It could have been much worse. We accepted (the suspension) quickly, even if I did not really agree .
“We had to choose the lesser of two evils and I think that’s what we did. What I’m going through is a little unfair, but if you look at it, it could have been much worse – it could have been even more unfair “
The 23-year-old added: “Once I made that decision, it took me a little time to find myself again. Other things happened, beyond this affair, which weren’t easy for me.
“It will take me a little more time to digest all of that, but I’m here. I can’t wait to make my return to Rome (Masters which begins a few days after his return).”
Sinner, a two-time Australian Open champion who also holds the US open crown. is unsure of his reception by peers when he comes back to the Tour in Rome.
“I don’t know what could happen . I’m certain of how things happened – I’m innocent.
“I want to play tennis and be very calm, that’s the end of it. I’m sure everything will be fine, even if it might take a while to get going again at first .”
Despite being out of action, Sinner has managed to maintain the top ATP ranking as rivals Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz continue to trail through poor results during their rival’s enforced absence.
Paula Badosa has given herself less than a month to be fit for the Madrid Masters after withdrawing from Miami with a recurring back problem.
The Spaniard who once touched second in the world retired before her fourth-round match in Florida more than a week ago.
She is hoping to be back on court when Madrid begins in three weeks.
The 27-year-old described her injury as “small hernia that has moved from the vertebra, but I’m being treated for the best treatments.
“My goal is to be back in Madrid.”
This year’s Australian Open semi-finalist added: “I’m doing well. I’m trying to take things positively, put things in perspective, and I’m doing fine.
“Physically? Well, I’ve had every test possible.
“This time I was more scared than I should have been because it was on the opposite side.
“I’ve always had discomfort on the right side, and now it’s on the left. I was worried it was another stress fracture, but fortunately it isn’t.”
Main photo:- Paula Badosa in Miami action before retiring – by ISF Ltd
Aryna Sabalenka shook off a one-hours rain delay as she defeated Jessica Pegula for the third time in a row, winning the Miami Masters on Saturday 7-5, 6-2.
The world No. 1 kept a firm grip on the top ranking spot after dismissing her American opponent after finals wins over Pegula in Cincinnati and New York last season.
Victory in just under 90 minutes was the second title of the season for Sabalenka, who lost 2025 finals at the Australian Open and earlier this month at Indian Wells to teenaged Mirra Andreeva.
The final began an hour late due to rain in South Florida.
Sabalenka broke on six of her 14 chances while dropping her own serve four times.
Sabalenka finally lifted the trophy here on her seventh appearance after reaching quarter-finals in 2021 and 2023.
The winner claimed her eighth title at the 1000 level while improving her record over Pegula to 7-2.
Sabalenka owns 19 career trophies including back-to-back Australian Opens and the US Open last September.
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