AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Top-seeded Elina Svitolina again relied on her “fighting spirit” Thursday, beating wild-card entry Katie Boulter 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in Auckland, New Zealand.

Both players struggled on serve in windy conditions on center court. There were nine service breaks in the match, which the No. 13-ranked Svitolina clinched on her third match point.

“Katie is a great fighter so I was expecting a tough match,” Svitolina said. “She can strike the ball very well, as she did today, and it was not an easy match for us with the wind swirling around.”

Svitolina dropped her serve in the third game, immediately broke back but was broken again in the ninth. She won some exceptional clutch points to break Boulter again and take the first set.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Open prize money has increased by 16% on last year to a record total for the tournament starting Jan. 18.

Organizers of the season's first tennis major on Tuesday announced their largest prize pool ever in local currency, with the total for 2026 set at 111.5 million Australian dollars (US$75 million). That was up from 96.5 million Australian dollars in 2025.

The women’s and men’s singles champions will win 4.15 million Australian dollars ($2.8 million), a 19% increase on last year.

Prize money for the qualifying tournament will increase by 16% and organizers say all main draw singles and doubles players will get a minimum 10% increase.