Australian Open 2024 Women’s Semifinal: TV Schedule, Start Time, Live Stream

Joe TanseyJanuary 24, 2024Australian Open 2024 Women’s Semifinal: TV Schedule, Start Time, Live Stream0 of 2

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The 2024 Australian Open women’s semifinals feature the last two hard-court Grand Slam winners and a pair of first-time semifinalists.

The showdown between No. 4 seed Coco Gauff and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka is the clear headliner for Thursday’s semifinal matches.

Sabalenka is the reigning Australian Open champion and Gauff beat her to win the U.S. Open last fall.

Dayana Yastremska and No. 12 seed Zheng Qinwen are in new territory at a Grand Slam event.

Yastremska had not made it past the first round at a major in the last two years before she entered Melbourne, while Zheng made it past the fourth round once in her major career.

Gauff and Sabalenka will play first on Thursday at 3:30 a.m. ET inside Rod Laver Arena. The Yastremska-Zheng match will follow. Both matches can be viewed on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.

Coco Gauff vs. Aryna Sabalenka1 of 2

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Gauff and Sabalenka will square off for the seventh time in their careers on Thursday.

Gauff won the last meeting to claim her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 U.S. Open.

A lot of the head-to-head matchups have been battles between the two players. Four of the six matches went to three sets.

The two reigning hard-court major champions have been building toward this matchup since the tournament started.

A majority of the top seeds in the bottom half of the women’s singles draw fell in the first three rounds.

Meanwhile. Gauff and Sabalenka barely showed any weaknesses. They each won their first four matches in straight sets. Gauff won her quarterfinal match in three sets, while Sabalenka continued her straight-set dominance.

The No. 2 seed should be the slight favorite over the American because of her triumph in Melbourne last year, but there should not be much separating the two players and we should expect another three-set battle between them.

Dayana Yastremska vs. Zheng Qinwen2 of 2

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Yastremska and Zheng make up the unexpected semifinal showdown on the women’s side.

Yastremska’s poor overall Grand Slam form put her out of the picture to even contend for a spot in the fourth round, let alone the semifinals.

The Ukrainian defeated three seeded players in the first four rounds and gained a bit of luck when top seed Iga Swiatek was eliminated in the fourth round. Yastremska was set to play Swiatek in the quarterfinals had she won.

Zheng’s progression to a Grand Slam semifinal was a bit more predictable since she earned her best major finish at the 2023 U.S. Open.

The quarterfinal run in New York set the foundation for a successful run in Melbourne.

The No. 12 seed has not played any ranked players because of all the upsets in the top half of the bracket, but she has been taken to three sets on a trio of occasions.

Zheng will be the favorite to face the Gauff-Sabalenka winner in the final, but she may not win in straight sets given how well some opponents played her so far in Australia.