Melbourne: Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time champion, advanced to her third consecutive Australian Open final by defeating 11th seed Paula Badosa in the semifinals on Thursday.
Sabalenka triumphed with a score of 6-4, 6-2, giving her the opportunity to claim her third title at the Australian Open. This victory also marked her 20th consecutive win at Melbourne Park.
Remaining undefeated in 2025, Sabalenka has now extended her winning streak to 11 matches. At 26 years old, she is the first woman to reach three Australian Open finals since Serena Williams and the youngest since Martina Hingis.
With this latest win, Sabalenka improved her head-to-head record against Badosa to six victories and two losses. She is set to face either world number two Iga Swiatek or number 14 Madison Keys in the final. Additionally, Sabalenka aims to become the first woman to secure three consecutive Australian Open titles since Hingis, who achieved this feat from 1997 to 1999.
Badosa, representing Spain, is poised to return to the top 10 in the WTA rankings following her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal appearance. She also recorded her first top-10 victory at a Grand Slam by defeating Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.
The match began with Badosa taking a strong lead at 2-0, 40-0, but she was unable to convert this into a triple-game point. Sabalenka regained her composure and broke Badosa in an eight-minute game, leveling the match. The world number one then won four consecutive games to establish a 4-2 lead. From that moment on, she maintained control and did not face another break point in a match that lasted nearly one and a half hours.
Sabalenka concluded the match with 26 winners and 18 unforced errors, while Badosa recorded only eight winners and 14 unforced errors.
