WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka supports Jelena Dokic’s powerful gesture for domestic violence victims

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka put on a show on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday, as she avenged her US Open final defeat with a commanding 7-6 (2), 6-4 semifinal win over the American. But it was a touching exchange afterward with Jelena Dokic that may just be remembered as the moment of the tournament at the Australian Open.

After moving into the third Grand Slam final of her career, Sabalenka met with 2009 quarterfinalist Dokic for the on-court interview—only this time, Dokic was holding an AO towel for Sabalenka.

Let’s rewind: It all began after Sabalenka’s lopsided 6-2, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over No. 9 seed Barbora Krejcikova, when Dokic joked during their post-match chat that Sabalenka should give up “at least one” of her AO player towels—a coveted Grand Slam souvenir for players and hardcore fans—because she had barely broken a sweat.

An amused Sabalenka gave up the blue and orange towel without hesitation.

WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka backs Jelena Dokic by signing AO towels for auction supporting domestic violence survivors

On Thursday, Dokic was back with a different kind of request for Sabalenka:

“What I want you to do, if you’re okay with it, can you sign it?” she asked the No. 2 seed. “Because then we will auction it off for kids and women affected by domestic violence. Is that okay?”

“I’ll give another one!” Sabalenka responded, as she signed both towels to the loudest applause of the night on Rod Laver Arena.

The cause is close to Dokic’s heart, as she revealed in her 2017 autobiography *Unbreakable* the extensive physical and psychological abuse she suffered at the hands of her own father and former coach, Damir Dokic. Once ranked as high as world No. 4, Dokic, a beloved figure in Aussie sport, has since used her platform to share her gut-wrenching personal story and help empower fellow survivors.

Dokic’s gesture resonated within the tennis world, where similar accounts of physical, emotional and sexual abuse being perpetrated by family or coaching staff against vulnerable players are unfortunately all too common.

But it also served to highlight the Grand Slam event’s silence around the controversial participation of No. 6 seed Alexander Zverev, who has moved into the semifinals in men’s singles even as he is currently awaiting a public trial for charges of physical domestic abuse brought forth by a former partner in Germany. It’s the latest in a series of allegations that has followed him since 2020, though Zverev has denied them all.

And with no domestic abuse policy in tennis that would suspend Zverev or otherwise reprimand him, that silence is only going to get louder as he approaches his second major final. Zverev, who took out No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, will face No. 3 Daniil Medvedev next.