VIDEO SHOWS: AUSTRALIAN OPEN POST MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE SOUNDBITES FROM JESSICA PEGULA, ELENA RYBAKINA AND IGA SWIATEK AFTER WOMEN'S SINGLES QUARTERFINALS RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (JANUARY 28, 2026)(TENNIS AUSTRALIA – See restrictions) 1. AMERICAN WORLD NUMBER SIX JESSICA PEGULA WALKING IN FOR PRESS CONFERENCE AND SITTING DOWN 2. WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JESSICA PEGULA, WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE CAMERAS BACKSTAGE AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN, SAYING: “This year, it feels even worse. I mean, I see like I'll be in the gym and there's video of me like walking into the site. I saw people that I didn't even know was happening and like very, areas that you don't think someone's kind of watching you. It's in every single hallway. And Coco wasn't wrong when she said, like, the only place is the locker room, which is crazy. And, you know, you're just kind of going about your day and to feel like someone's constantly filming you. I mean, I saw online people were zooming in on players' phones and stuff like that. Like, that's so unnecessary. And I just think it's really an invasion of privacy. I mean, we're on the court on TV. You come inside, you're on TV. I mean, literally, the only time you're not being recorded is when you're going to shower and go to the bathroom. And so I think that's something that we need to cut back on for sure. I don't think what Coco did was wrong. I don't think what Arena did was wrong. It's just people happen to be watching it. And you just feel like you're under a microscope constantly. And then people obviously post it online, and then you either take it out of context or judge you based on a moment. That shouldn't be a moment. It should be a private moment. So I really, really am not a fan.” 4. WHITE FLASH 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JESSICA PEGULA WHEN ASKED ABOUT ALL HER SEMIS COMING AFTER 30 YEARS OLD, SAYING: “And I'm just proud of myself, again, of how I've been able to consistently still improve. And I feel like, to be honest, the level's higher now than probably before when I was making some of those quarters. I don't think Aryna (Sabalenka) was as dominant. Like, Rybakina maybe wasn't as dominant. Iga (Swiatek) was kind of like when she was dominating a little bit, but now we have like all these girls, Amanda (Anisimova). So yeah, it's a weird kind of thing to think about, but I don't know if I've worked necessarily harder. I actually think I work a little less hard and just a lot smarter, and just really honed in on how to become better.” 6. WHITE FLASH 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JESSICA PEGULA WHEN ASKED IF HER STABILITY IN HER GAME MATCHES HER PERSONALITY, SAYING: “So I think, especially over the last couple years, I've kind of leaned into what my strengths are, and that is stability and my mental toughness and my ability to stay calm out there on the court and kind of just lean into that and really kind of own that. And you have to be confident out here. You're playing against some really tough girls. So it's a little bit, I think, personality, but then learning how to kind of mesh that with my game on the court.” 8. WHITE FLASH 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ELENA RYBAKINA, WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE HARDEST PART ABOUT WINNING A SLAM, SAYING: “The hardest, I would say, is probably to stay consistent throughout the two weeks, two weeks. And there are always challenging days and you can play indoor, you can play outdoor, sun, it can be night match. So all these conditions are a bit tricky. Also, how quick you can adapt to these circumstances and…I think probably now I'm more calm and going deeper in the tournament. And in the beginning when it was the first final and you go so far in the tournament, of course you are more emotional. And now I feel like I'm just doing my job, trying to improve each day. So it's kind of another day, another match.” 10. WHITE FLASH 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ELENA RYBAKINA ON HER SEMI-FINAL OPPONENT, PEGULA, SAYING: “She's a very experienced opponent and she moves well, and also her ball stays quite low, so that makes it a bit difficult sometimes to play her. But I will try to adjust and yeah, we'll see who's going to win. I talk with my team, we make some plans for the match and yeah, I'll try to do my best, definitely.” 12. WHITE FLASH 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IGA SWIATEK ON HER LOSS TO RYBAKINA, SAYING: “For sure, I didn't serve as well as, I don't know, in Cincinnati, for example, against Elena. My serve was kind of normal, and sometimes it could have given me a bit more. As I said, in the first set, I think it was a difference of a couple of points, you know, and honestly… 14. WHITE FLASH 15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IGA SWIATEK ON HER LOSS TO RYBAKINA, SAYING: “And then in the second set, I thought, I don't know, that the pace from her got a little bit even higher and she was more precise, and maybe I dropped the intensity at the beginning especially. But it's like I have some stuff I want to work on and it's never been so flawless for me playing on these courts. as they're fast, so I guess I'll try next time anyway.” 16. WHITE FLASH 17. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IGA SWIATEK ON SKIPPING TOURNAMENTS TO WORK ON HER GAME, SAYING: “Yeah, I don't feel it's possible to do that in this short period of time that we have between tournaments. Last year I had trouble with making this kind of decision, but this year I'm trying to change my approach, so I think for sure we'll skip some 1,000 tournaments. I was never in the… in this position. So I don't know what the result will be, but I think it's necessary because if you want to improve your game, you know, unless I want to stay the same and just prepare for every tournament, then I can do that as well and I'll play well. But if I want to improve something, it would be nice to have some time. And unfortunately, the calendar doesn't allow that.” 18. WHITE FLASH 19. SWIATEK LEAVING PRESSER STORY: Jessica Pegula moved into the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career on Wednesday (January 28), with a 6-3 7-6(1) win over fellow American and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova at Melbourne Park. The sixth seed, who exited the competition at the quarter-finals stage in 2021, 2022 and 2023, will take on Elena Rybakina for a place in Saturday's (January 30) final after the Kazakh defeated Iga Swiatek earlier in the day. The 31-year-old joined the chorus of players expressing dissatisfaction over cameras following the players backstage and called for more privacy. It followed Coco Gauff complaining after she was filmed smashing her racket in a warm up area. Earlier, fifth seed Elena Rybakina booked her place in the semis, handing six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek a 7-5 6-1 defeat. Looking to lift the trophy for the first time, the 28-year-old, said she felt more calme going into the business end of the tournament and hopes to stay aggressive. Rybakina fired 11 aces and 26 winners as she ended Swiatek's career Grand Slam bid on Rod Laver Arena, winning eight of the last nine games to underline her authority. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)
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