Coco Gauff was stunned by Elina Svitolina as the Ukrainian stormed to a straight-sets win at the Australian Open.

Gauff was hoping to tee up a blockbuster semi-final against top seed Aryna Sabalenka at Melbourne Park.

Instead, Svitolina wrapped up a 6-1 6-2 victory in just 59 minutes to maintain her perfect form in 2026.

Svitolina has only dropped one set this season, and her sixth break of the match saw the 31-year-old seal a comprehensive victory.

"Not a bad day in the office," said Svitolina, who will move into the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time since 2021 when they are published next week.

"I am very pleased with the tournament so far and it was my dream to get back into the top 10 after maternity leave. It didn't happen last year, but in the off-season, I told my coach I still wanted to get back to the top 10. That was my goal this year.

"It means the world to me. I try to push myself and motivate myself to continue. Overall, it has been a good trip and I am really happy to go through to the semi-final."

13 - Elina Svitolina is the player with the most main draw appearances needed (13) to reach her maiden Women’s Singles semi-final at the Australian Open in the Open Era. Liberation.#AusOpen | @AustralianOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/ykAXpw1fxz

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 27, 2026

The tone was set early for Gauff, who was immediately broken in the first game of the match. Though she hit back, the third seed never looked capable of finding her best level, as she finished with five double faults, 26 unforced errors and only three winners.

Data Debrief: Svitolina stays perfect

Svitolina has won her first 10 matches of the year, and is on the third-longest winning run of her career, after 2017 (15) and 2025 (11).

She has never reached a grand slam final, but this marked her 24th victory over a top-five opponent.

At the age of 31 years and 128 days, Svitolina became the second-oldest woman in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time.

In fact, Svitolina has required more main draw appearances (13) to reach her maiden Australian Open semi-final than any other player.