Australian Open 2026 Women’s Day 7

Australian Open holder Madison Keys and US compatriot Jessica Pegula beat the heat on a sweltering Saturday, earning morning victories into the fourth round before the mercury soared to 40 Celsius.

In the evening, two-time winner Naomi Osaka withdrew prior to her match against Maddie Inglis, sending the last Australian woman remaining into the fourth round.

Osaka later said she experienced abdominal injury linked to her pregnancy of several years ago.

.“I thought I could push through it. I played my last match with some pain, and I thought maybe if I gave myself a break before my match today, I would be able to handle it, but I warmed up, and it got a lot worse,” he said, adding she still needed to see doctors.

“I definitely have to do more tests and coming back from pregnancy, my body changed quite a lot. So this is something I have to be really cautious of.

Keys took full advantage of play which began an hour earlier than normal as officials raced to beat some of the summer weather and keep the Grand Slam on schedule.

“I’m from Florida, so I was ready for the heat,” Keys said after dispatching Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-3 in 76 minutes.

“I was excited for the heat, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m happy to have played some clean matches – I’m ready for the second week.”

Pegula, who appears on a behind-the-scenes podcast with her friend Keys, eased no time in her 6-3, 6-2 win over Oksana Selehkmeteva to reach the fourth round.

Pliskova, a former Melbourne semi-finalist, who had two months at world No. 1 in 2017, has been through injury hell in recent seasons, with her ranking standing outside the top 1000.

Keys turned in a solid match to advance as her title defence strengthens after 25 winners including six aces.

“My serve got me out of a few tricky spots. I deserve a pat on the back for that,” she said. .

“It gives you confidence when you find your best tennis when you are pushed.  I need to trust my game.and have belief in myself.”

The sixth-seeded Pegula emerged satisfied with her win.

“I’m really happy to be back in the fourth round. I played some really good matches, been very efficient I think score-wise, time on court.

“Today was really tricky. I didn’t know that much about her. We had a couple tough games there, but I was able to kind of grab the momentum when I could.

“I served very well and was able to execute my game plan.”

Keys and Pegula will now meet in the fourth round, with Keys winning their last encounter a year ago in the Adelaide final.

Fourth seed Amanda Anisimova completed a winning US trio with her 6-1, 6-4 thrashing of countrywoman Payton Stearns.

The winner said she began preparations for the heatwave conditions on Friday.

“Just staying hydrated the day before, and the day of is really important (with ice baths).

“We always try to prepare as best as we can. I felt like I was really rushed today

trying to just fit everything (hydration-wise) in on each changeover.

“It’s just important to keep fuelling and also staying calm, to not spend my energy on emotions or negativity or things that just didn’t matter,

like closing the match or stressing out about not finishing
the match.

“When it’s really hot, it brings you even more down and it takes a lot
of your energy. I was just really trying to stay focused, try and do
the things that I wanted to do, focus on my serve.”

Second seed Iga Swiatek turned in a momentum-shifting 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 win over Anna Kalinskaya for a fourth-round spot while losing her first set of the tournament.

Czech teenaged qualifying sensation Nikola Bartunkova, who beat Swiss Belinda Bencic in the second round, was knocked out 6-0, 6-4 by Belgian veteran Elise Mertens.