AO women’s semifinals: The best ticket in town?

Our AO Hacks series returns in the build-up to Australian Open 2026, offering handy tips and tricks to help you elevate your experience at Melbourne Park.

For fans seeking out high-stakes tennis and star power on the biggest stages, then the Australian Open women’s semifinals tick every box.

You can watch both semifinals with one ticket, given both are played back-to-back during a blockbuster Thursday night session.

TICKETS: Australian Open 2026 women's semifinals

This doubles your chances of seeing an unforgettable classic, and this is often the case as players compete for the ultimate opportunity – a coveted place in a Grand Slam final.

The Australian Open women’s semifinals were traditionally played on Thursday afternoon, until switching to a prime-time evening slot in 2022.

In the past four editions of women’s semifinal night, some of the biggest stars in women’s tennis – Ash Barty, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Victoria Azarenka, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys – have competed at Rod Laver Arena.

“At this point, I mean, everyone has also won some really great matches, and we're all playing some really good tennis,” said Keys, after reaching her third AO semifinal in 2025, a tournament she went on to win.

“This is really what they call the business end of the tournament.”

Not only are they tennis superstars, but many of those women’s semifinalists are some of the most globally-recognised female athletes.

Four of the five highest paid female athletes on the planet – Gauff, Swiatek, Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen – have all previously featured on AO women’s semifinal night.

Many of them have featured in blockbuster battles, three of which we’re revisiting here:

2022: Ash Barty d Madison Keys

This might not have been a classic in terms of the scoreline, but when it came to gravitas and atmosphere, Barty’s match-up with Keys had enormous impact.

It was the inaugural match of the new night-time women’s semifinal session, and with a local player headlining the action, Australian audiences were captivated.

The match drew a peak national TV audience of almost 2.5 million – at that point the highest-rating match of AO 2022.

Barty played almost flawlessly in her 6-1 6-3 victory, becoming the first Australian woman to reach an AO singles final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980.

It set the stage for a final against Danielle Collins, which Barty went on to win – a result electrifying the tournament, re-writing the Australian record books and cementing Barty as an icon in her homeland.

2024: Aryna Sabalenka d Coco Gauff

This was a blockbuster semifinal between the reigning Australian Open and US Open champions.

That made it just the eighth women’s match between reigning major champions in Melbourne Park history.

Not only that, but Gauff had only months earlier beaten Sabalenka in three compelling sets in the US Open final, setting the stage for a highly-anticipated rematch.

Sabalenka was at the peak of her powers at AO 2024, but she was pushed to the limit by Gauff – especially in a 56-minute first set – as the two went toe-to-toe in a high-quality affair.

Watched on by women’s tennis legends Billie Jean King and Evonne Goolagong, Sabalenka sealed victory with an unreturnable serve, and two nights later went on to defend her AO title.

2025: Madison Keys d Iga Swiatek

Keys and Swiatek had both competed under lights in the AO 2022 semifinals, both losing in straight sets.

Both returned to the same stage three years later, this time competing against one another.

World No.2 Swiatek was bidding to set up a first Grand Slam final between herself and top-ranked Sabalenka, who’d beaten Paula Badosa earlier that night to reach her third consecutive AO final.

And she came incredibly close, serving for the match at 6-5 and holding a match point at 40-30.

Keys escaped, and in the thrilling match tiebreak that followed, the powerful American recovered from 7-8 down to reel off the final three points and seal an astonishing victory.

She completed a fairytale fortnight two nights later against Sabalenka, winning another thriller to clinch her first Grand Slam title with back-to-back wins over the world’s top two.

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