Swiatek can already be ranked among the greats, having won six major titles across the three different surfaces.
Mastering the Wimbledon grass last year – a surface considered her weakest – meant she arrived in Melbourne attempting to become only the sixth woman in the Open era to win all four Grand Slam singles titles.
Swiatek insisted she was blocking out the outside noise about what was at stake but perhaps she did not fully believe she could win in Australia, given the changes to her serve and the conditions.
That doubt played perfectly into Rybakina’s hands.
Rybakina could not initially find her rhythm on her serve, with an uncharacteristically low first-serve percentage of 41%, but she had enough pace and aggression in her groundstrokes to rush Swiatek.
That was demonstrated in the crucial 12th game. Rybakina fought back from 0-30 with depth from the baseline and explosive winners to take the opener.
Rybakina immediately took control of the second set, her groundstrokes flying through the court, and Swiatek could do little to halt her momentum.
Rybakina, runner-up in 2023, will face American sixth seed Jessica Pegula in Thursday’s semi-finals.
Pegula, 31, won 6-2 7-6 (7-1) against fourth seed Amanda Anisimova later on Wednesday.