Aryna Sabalenka opens up on controversial hindrance call at Australian Open 2026 semifinal; ‘she really pissed me off'

Aryna Sabalenka spoke out about the controversial hindrance call during her Australian Open 2026 women's singles semifinal against Elina Svitolina on Thursday at the Rod Laver Arena. The incident took place during the fourth game of the first set.

As the rally intensified, umpire Louise Azemar Engzell halted the game with a “stop, hindrance” call just as Svitolina was about to return to Sabalenka. The call stunned both players. While Svitolina stood in disbelief, Sabalenka immediately reacted with "What?" before the world no. 1 called for a television review.

“You went, ‘Uh-aya'. You don’t make the normal sound,” Engzell replied to Sabalenka as she upheld her ruling. Although the Belarusian lost that point, she dominated the remainder of the match to march towards her third Australian Open title.

“That’s actually never happened to me. Especially with my grunting. It’s so off, I think,” Sabalenka told reporters after the game. “I was like, ‘What? What is wrong with you?’ I think it was the wrong call. She really pissed me off. It actually helped me and benefited my game,” she added.

“It actually helped me — I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call, and it really helped me to get that game,” Sabalenka said. “So if she (Azemar Engzell) ever wants to do it again — like, I want to make sure that she’s not afraid of it — go ahead, call it. It’s going to help me,” she added

For Sabalenka, the job is not yet done. 

“It’s an incredible achievement, but the job’s not done yet,” an emotional Sabalenka said in her on-court TV interview. “I've been watching her game, (Svitolina) was playing incredible. I felt like I had to step in and put as much pressure as I could back on her. I’m glad the level was there. I think I played great tennis.”

Who will Sabalenka face in final?

In the final, Sabalenka will take on Elena Rybakina, who overcame American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) in the second semifinal of the day. Saturday's final will be a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final. It must be noted that neither of the players dropped a set so far and enters the summit clash in red-hot form.

Sabalenka is the third woman in the Open era to reach four consecutive singles finals at the Australian Open after Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Martina Hingis.