Australian Open 2026 quarter-finals: Pegula beats Anisimova after Rybakina stuns Swiatek – as it happened
But that’s just about all from me today, it’s been a lot of fun having your company as we watched Elena Rybakina (5) and Jess Pegula (6) advance through to the final four of the women’s singles,Be sure to check back later this evening, where we’ll be bringing you all the action on a evening set to be highlighted by Ben Shelton (8) looking to upset the applecart and bundle Jannik Sinner (1) out in the quarterfinals,I’ve been Joey Lynch, thanks for your company,While both Pegula and Anisimova landed approximately 60% of their first serves in that one, the former was able to take 70% of those points compared to the 58% of the latter,Pegula also won 64% of her second serves, compared to the 39% logged by the frustrated Anisimova.
The older American also sent down six aces to two across the match, while logging just two double faults to seven,Tellingly, she only made 21 unforced errors compared to her opponent’s 44, too,Pegula came to play and WIN 🤩First #AusOpen semifinal for the American!@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic,twitter,com/T9Bkl4ThmGSo, for the first time in her career, Pegula is through to the final four at the Australian Open -- the ghosts of three straight quarterfinal exits between 2021 and 2023 now exorcised.
She’s been to the final and semifinals of the US Open in recent years and now will have a chance to knock off Elena Rybakina (5) in the coming days.The two have met six times previously – the ledger split evenly between them.Melbourne breakthrough 💥 @JPegula pic.twitter.com/lrCuuYPUUkJessica Pegula (6) 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 Amanda Anisimova (4) Both Americans hold serve at the start of the tiebreak before Pegula secures a mini-break that makes it 3-1 following another unforced error from Anisimova.
A frustrated Anisimova spanks the court with her racquet after sending a backhand into the net to make it 5-1 and then screams at her coaching pod when she sends a backhand long,The dam holding back the frustration has well and truly cracked,An unreturnable serve from Pegula brings up five match points as the serve goes back to Anisimova but she only needs one: the younger American firing a forehand into the net to fall in the last eight,Jessica Pegula* (6) 6-6 6-2 Amanda Anisimova (4) Yet despite all the unforced errors and double faults, Anisimova can still hit a tennis ball really well, and she breaks back to bring up a tie break,Pegula takes the first point but Anisimova responds to the pressure with a big overhead smash to level.
Pegula responds by getting to the net and smashing an overhead winner of her own to move back ahead.But a double fault from Pegula, just her second of the match, brings it level once more and Anisimova then brings up a break point.A forehand from Pegula then goes long, sending us to a tiebreak.It’s clear from the frustrated way that she’s carrying herself that Anisimova’s not in the same zone as Pegula.Beyond her mounting double faults, she’s committed 41 unforced errors to Pegula’s 18.
Jessica Pegula (6) 6-5 6-2 Amanda Anisimova* (4) After taking the first point, Anisimova double faults – with her second fault flying all the way into the coach’s pod.Yikes.She recovers to land her next first serve and make it 30-15 and then moves it to 40-15 when an attempted sliced forehand by Pegula can’t clear the net.Yet another double fault allows Pegula back into the service game and it’s then deuce when Pegula works the point really well and is rewarded when Anisimova launches a forehand into the net.A third double fault of the service game brings up break point – Anisimova now has seven to Pegula’s one – but she survives, frustration nonetheless evident on her face after the point, after a forehand error from Pegula.
Keying in on a second serve, Pegula smashes a forehand return winner to bring up another break point and then takes it when Anisimova sends a backhand into the net.Pegula can now serve for a place in the semifinals.Jessica Pegula* (6) 5-5 6-2 Amanda Anisimova (4) Anisimova takes the first point at the end of a long baseline battle – her ball striking just a level above her opponent’s on that exchange – but Pegula answers back with a really nice forehand winner.Anisimova sends a forehand return wide and long to fall behind and then can’t get a handle on a serve sent down the T as Pegula brings up 40-15.The younger American forces Pegula to stretch and send a baseline forehand long to keep the game alive but another good serve induces a long return and seals a calm hold of serve.
Jessica Pegula (6) 4-5 6-2 Amanda Anisimova* (4) Aaaaaaaannnnnd the breakthrough that Anisimova worked so hard for is instantly wiped away, as Pegula breaks straight back.Pegula takes the first point and while Anisimova answers back initially, she follows that with unforced errors that give her opponent two break points.After a lengthy battle on the baseline, Anisimova sees off the first when Pegula lifts a shot long but a double fault then follows.That’s got to be dispiriting for the 24-year-old; the question now is will that mental blow carry over?
At Davos, tech CEOs laid out their vision for AI’s world domination
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. This week’s edition is a team effort: my colleague Heather Stewart reports on the plans for AI’s world domination at Davos; I examine how huge investments have followed AI companies with little to their names but drama and dreams; and Nick Robins-Early spotlights how lax regulation of autonomous driving in Texas allowed Tesla to thrive.When they weren’t discussing Donald Trump, delegates at the World Economic Forum last week were being dazzled by the prospects for artificial intelligence.Up and down the main street of the Swiss Alps town, almost every shopfront was temporarily emblazoned with the neon slogan of a tech firm – or a consultancy promising to tell executives how to incorporate AI into their business. Cloudflare’s wood-panelled HQ urged delegates to “connect, protect and build together”, and Wipro’s shouted: “Dream Solve Prove Repeat
‘Wake up to the risks of AI, they are almost here,’ Anthropic boss warns
Humanity is entering a phase of artificial intelligence development that will “test who we are as a species”, the boss of the AI startup Anthropic has said, arguing that the world needs to “wake up” to the risks.Dario Amodei, a co-founder and the chief executive of the company behind the hit chatbot Claude, voiced his fears in a 19,000-word essay titled “The adolescence of technology”.Describing the arrival of highly powerful AI systems as potentially imminent, he wrote: “I believe we are entering a rite of passage, both turbulent and inevitable, which will test who we are as a species.”Amodei added: “Humanity is about to be handed almost unimaginable power, and it is deeply unclear whether our social, political, and technological systems possess the maturity to wield it.”The tech entrepreneur, whose company is reportedly worth $350bn (£255bn), said his essay was an attempt to “jolt people awake” because the world needed to “wake up” to the need for action on AI safety
Tech giants head to landmark US trial over social media addiction claims
For the first time, a huge group of parents, teens and school districts is taking on the world’s most powerful social media companies in open court, accusing the tech giants of intentionally designing their products to be addictive. The blockbuster legal proceedings may see multiple CEOs, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, face harsh questioning.A long-awaited series of trials kicks off in Los Angeles superior court on Tuesday, in which hundreds of US families will allege that Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube’s platforms harm children. Once young people are hooked, the plaintiffs allege, they fall prey to depression, eating disorders, self-harm and other mental health issues. Approximately 1,600 plaintiffs are included in the proceedings, involving more than 350 families and 250 school districts
California governor Gavin Newsom accuses TikTok of suppressing content critical of Trump
California governor Gavin Newsom has accused TikTok of suppressing content critical of president Donald Trump, as he launched a review of the platform’s content moderation practices to determine if they violated state law, even as the platform blamed a systems failure for the issues.The step comes after TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, said last week it had finalised a deal to set up a majority US-owned joint venture that will secure US data, to avoid a US ban on the short video app used by more than 200 million Americans.“Following TikTok’s sale to a Trump-aligned business group, our office has received reports, and independently confirmed instances, of suppressed content critical of President Trump,” Newsom’s office said on X on Monday, without elaborating.“Gavin Newsom is launching a review of this conduct and is calling on the California Department of Justice to determine whether it violates California law,” it added.In response, a representative for the the joint venture for TikTok in the US pointed to a prior statement that blamed a data centre power outage, adding, “It would be inaccurate to report that this is anything but the technical issues we’ve transparently confirmed
Georgia leads push to ban datacenters used to power America’s AI boom
Lawmakers in several states are exploring passing laws that would put statewide bans in place on building new datacenters as the issue of the power-hungry facilities has moved to the center of economic and environmental concerns in the US.In Georgia a state lawmaker has introduced a bill proposing what could become the first statewide moratorium on new datacenters in America. The bill is one of at least three statewide moratoriums on datacenters introduced in state legislatures in the last week as Maryland and Oklahoma lawmakers are also considering similar measures.But it is Georgia that is quickly becoming ground zero in the fight against untrammelled growth of datacenters – which are notorious for using huge amounts of energy and water – as they power the emerging industry of artificial intelligence.The Georgia bill seeks to halt all such projects until March of next year “to allow state, county and municipal-level officials time to set necessary policies for regulating datacenters … which permanently alter the landscape of our state”, said bill sponsor and state Democratic legislator Ruwa Romman
EU launches inquiry into X over sexually explicit images made by Grok AI
The European Commission has launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the production of sexually explicit images and the spreading of possible child sexual abuse material by the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok.The formal inquiry, launched on Monday, also extends an investigation into X’s recommender systems, algorithms that help users discover new content.Grok has sparked international outrage by allowing users to digitally strip women and children and put them into provocative poses. Grok AI generated about 3m sexualised images in less than two weeks, including 23,000 that appeared to depict children, according to researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate.The commission said its investigation would “assess whether the company properly assessed and mitigated risks” stemming from Grok’s functionalities in the EU, including risks on the sharing of illegal content such as manipulated sexually explicit images and “content that may amount to” child sexual abuse material
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