MELBOURNE: Elina Svitolina credited her first-ever Australian Open semifinal run to the mental health break she took at the end of last season — a move she believes rejuvenated her.
The 31-year-old Ukrainian swept aside French Open champion Coco Gauff 6-1 6-2 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, ending the American third seed’s bid for a third Grand Slam title.
Svitolina, the 12th seed, reached the last four at Melbourne Park for the first time after three quarter-final appearances, keeping alive her hopes of a maiden major title.
“It was difficult decision in one hand, but then I spoke with my team and family,” Svitolina told reporters. “If I would keep pushing last year, I think I would not start here. I would be exhausted, and even not sure if I would be injury-free.
“So for me it was important to just step back, and I’m very happy that I did that. Of course, now it’s easy to say because the results have been great ... but I still think it’s something that helped me.” Svitolina won the Auckland Open this month, her 19th WTA title, after ending her 2025 season early to focus on her mental health.
Asked whether she surprised herself with how quickly she rediscovered her form, Svitolina said: “I tried to trust myself ... When I’m fresh, when I’m mentally ready to face difficult situations, then I can play well.”
Svitolina next faces Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka, against whom she holds a 1-5 losing record.
“It’s no secret she’s a very powerful player,” Svitolina said. “The power in all parts of her game is her strength. I think she’s very consistent for the past years with everything that she does on the court. I’ll have to be ready for that, try to find the ways and the little holes, little opportunities in her game.”
Svitolina says mental health break fueled her run to first Australian Open semifinal
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Svitolina says mental health break fueled her run to first Australian Open semifinal
- The 31-year-old Ukrainian swept aside French Open champion Coco Gauff 6-1 6-2
- Svitolina, the 12th seed, reached the last four at Melbourne Park for the first time
Undefeated heavyweight opens up about tough training under Khabib Nurmagomedov ahead of PFL Dubai bout
- Khabib Nabiev reveals that training under namesake and former UFC champion leaves him with no energy even ‘to smile’
DUBAI: Undefeated light heavyweight Khabib Nabiev says the training under former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is so demanding that fighters leave the gym without the energy “to smile.”
The 11-0 Russian will face Ahmed Sami at PFL Dubai on Feb. 7 at the Coca-Cola Arena. Speaking at a recent press conference in Dubai, Nabiev painted a vivid picture of the physical and mental toll extracted by his coach.
“He pressures so much that you are in a condition that you already tired, but he just asks you to keep continuing, keep pushing yourself to the high limit,” Nabiev explained.
“Which really lets you leave the gym without even (a) smile because there’s no energy to smile. There’s no like muscle left, you know, to smile. So that’s the level of pressure.”
The 25-year-old fighter trains at the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Martial Arts School in Dagestan, the legendary facility founded by the former UFC champion’s late father.
The training camp in the UAE for his upcoming fight started three weeks ago and nearly broke the fighters involved. “It was a big pressure from Khabib’s side especially,” Nabiev said. “It was like it was a level like almost we broke, but you know, we kept continuing and training this one.”
Nabiev described training sessions where the limits constantly shift beyond what seems humanly possible.
“There is a point of like when you feel that, okay, we have to stop, we’re done, but he still asks you, okay, we have to do five rounds of wrestling and then you have to do the, you know, the push-ups and pull-ups and all that,” he said.
“So there’s never (a) limit.”
The fighter’s three-month preparation was split across multiple locations. The team began in the mountains of Dagestan for sparring work before moving to Makhachkala to continue training.
The final phase took place in the UAE under the guidance of both Nurmagomedov and Javier Mendez, the renowned American Kickboxing Academy coach.
“One month over in Dagestan, like in mountains, sparring. Second month we trained here under the guidance of Khabib as well as Javier Mendez. So no injuries, we’re all good,” Nabiev said.
When asked if fighters can ever negotiate with their coach, Nabiev was clear. “Can anyone ever say hi, but it doesn’t work. He says no,” the fighter said, adding with a touch of humor that those who do not want to work are told they can leave.
This aligns with Nurmagomedov’s public statements about his coaching philosophy. “At the gym, when we start our sessions, there’s no room for freedom of speech,” he said at the World Sports Summit in January.
“Everyone must follow my instructions if I’m their coach.”
Nabiev has five submission victories and four knockouts, demonstrating a well-rounded finishing ability. He has competed primarily for UAE Warriors and Eagle FC, earning his last three victories via submission.
His most recent performance came in January 2025 when he submitted Dhouglas Ribeiro with an arm-triangle choke in the second round at UAE Warriors 57.
His opponent Sami brings a 12-4 record to the cage with six knockouts and three submissions. The Egyptian fighter from Cairo earned his spot on the card with a first-round TKO victory over Tarek Suleiman at a PFL event in January 2025.
The fight takes place on the preliminary card beginning at 9 a.m. UAE, with the main card featuring PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov defending his title against Alfie Davis. The event marks the third PFL show in Dubai and will stream on the ESPN app in the US.
