With the top half blown wide open after the shocking defeats of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round and No. 3 seed and 2023 runner-up Elena Rybakina, Ukraine's Elina Svitolina had a golden opportunity to make her maiden Grand Slam final at the 2024 Australian Open. However, the No. 19 seed's Melbourne dreams incurred a painful ending on Monday as he was forced to retire due to a back injury during her fourth-round match against Linda Noskova at the Margaret Court Arena. Svitolina, a two-time quarterfinalist at Melbourne Park, walked off the court with tears in her eyes.
The former World No. 3 was broken in her opening service game, which lasted 11 minutes and contained 20 points, before Noskova, who took down Swiatek in a stunning three-setter win earlier this week, held serve to gain an early 2-0 lead. Then, Svitolina called for a medical time-out for a back injury. When she returned, the Ukrainian player had had her serve broken for a second time after which a tearful Svitolina decided to quit as she shook Noskova’s hand and retired.
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This was the first time Svitolina, who was aiming for her third quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, withdrew from a Grand Slam during the tournament due to an injury.
The injury withdrawal for Svitolina saw Noskova advance to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open 2024. She is now the fifth Czech teenager to reach the quarterfinals in Melbourne after Helena Sukova, Nicole Vaidisova, Lucie Safarova and Martina Navratilova.
“Obviously today was not the way I had planned to win,” said the 19-year-old Noskova. “I feel sort for Elina, I hope she gets very well soon."
Noskova will next face another Ukrainian, Dayana Yastremska, who has scripted a stellar run in Melbourne to make her first-ever major quarters as well. Yastremska, who rose through the qualifiers, beat two-time champion Victoria Azarenka 7-6(6), 6-4 on Monday in the fourth round.
Later in the day, No. 26 seed Jasmine Paolini will face Anna Kalinskaya, who beat former US Open winner Sloane Stephens in the third round, for a place in the last eight while No. 12 seed Qinwen Zheng of China will be up against Oceane Dodin.
{{/usCountry}}Later in the day, No. 26 seed Jasmine Paolini will face Anna Kalinskaya, who beat former US Open winner Sloane Stephens in the third round, for a place in the last eight while No. 12 seed Qinwen Zheng of China will be up against Oceane Dodin.
{{/usCountry}}In the men's singles section, two-time finalists in Melbourne and former US Open winner Daniil Medvedev will be in action against Nuno Borges of Portugal, while No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz will aim to continue his best-ever run at the Australian Open when he faces Miomir Kecmanović.