“Go ahead, call it!” Aryna Sabalenka shrugs off hindrance call during Australian Open semis

Aryna Sabalenka charged into her fourth consecutive Australian Open final Thursday evening, powering past Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3 in a dominant display.

The only major blip came early in the match—and not from her opponent. Chair umpire Louise Engzell issued Sabalenka an unusual hindrance call.

“That’s actually never happened to me!” Sabalenka told reporters afterward. “She called it, and I was like, ‘What? What is wrong with you?!’”

The moment came at 2-1 in the first set, when Sabalenka struck a ball she believed had gone long during a rally. Her extended grunt shifted into a frustrated groan—but the ball landed in, and after Svitolina played it, the umpire ruled the noise a hindrance.

That’s actually never happened to me! ...She called it, and I was like, ‘What? What is wrong with you?!’

Neither player appeared to expect the call, and Sabalenka vehemently disagreed. She even asked for a replay to be shown on the big screens inside Rod Laver Arena as she pleaded her case, but Engzell stood firm.

“You went ‘uh-AYA’… Not the normal sound,” the chair umpire explained.

The world No. 1 didn’t let the incident derail her—if anything, it had the opposite effect. She broke Svitolina in that very game and never relinquished control, sealing the win in 76 minutes.

Read More: Aryna Sabalenka storms into fourth straight Australian Open final

“I think today specifically it help me,” Sabalenka said. “I played better because I was more aggressive. But overall, if it’s not in my control… I don’t care about that. I think that’s the right approach to these kinds of situations.”

Sabalenka even joked that she’d welcome another hindrance call in the future—one that would only add fuel to her fire:

Q. The moment that the hindrance call was made was quite early on… I’d just like to ask what your view of that was at the time?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Oh, that’s actually never happened to me! Like, never happened to me, especially with my grunting…

It’s, like, it’s so off I think. The way that, I don’t know, I exhale, it’s just because of — I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it.

It’s just the ball was deep. The ball was, like, the bounce was wrong, and it was just like the timing. I was exhaling, and it just happened naturally.

Then she called it, and I was, like, What? What is wrong with you?!

I mean, I think it was the wrong call, but whatever. She really — how do I say in a nice way? She really pissed me off, and it’s actually help me and benefit my game. I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call, and it really helped me to get that game.

So if she ever want 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! (laughter)

The two-time champion has yet to drop a set at this year’s Australian Open, and the victory extended her perfect start to the season to 11-0.

Sabalenka will now face No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina on Saturday in a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final, where she captured her first major title.

“I don’t like to compare myself to, like, I don’t know, even yesterday,” Sabalenka said of being back in the championship match. “…But if you ask how I feel right now, I feel good about my tennis. I feel like everything that I have been working during the preseason is working. I’m happy with that and I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

Read More: Elena Rybakina to resume rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka in Australian Open final