Australian Open 2025: Aryna Sabalenka inches closer to third straight AUS Open title after beating Paula Badosa in semis

Aryna Sabalenka brushed aside the Paula Badosa challenge, defeating the 11th seed to reach her third consecutive Australian Open final on Thursday. The two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in straight sets and also also extended her winning streak at Melbourne Park to 20 matches.

For the record, the 26-year-old Aryna Sabalenka became the first woman to reach three Australian Open finals since Serena Williams and the youngest since Martina Hingis. With this win, Aryna Sabalenka remained undefeated in 2025, extending her streak to 11 matches.

Aryna Sabalenka also improved her record against Paula Badosa to six wins and two losses. She will face either world no.2 Iga Swiatek or no.14 Madison Keys in the title clash. Aryna Sabalenka is also aiming to become the first woman to win three successive Australian Open titles since Hingis, who won from 1997 to 1999.

Paula Badosa is set to return to the top 10 in the WTA rankings after making it to her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal. She also secured her first top-10 win at a Grand Slam, defeating Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.

The Spaniard made a strong start to the match, holding a 2-0, 40-0 lead but failed to convert it into a triple-game point. Aryna Sabalenka steadied herself and broke Paula Badosa in an eight-minute game to put the match back on serve.

The world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka then won four successive games to build a 4-2 lead. From that point, she never looked back and did not face another break point in a match that lasted almost one and a half hours. Aryna Sabalenka secured the win with 26 winners and 18 unforced errors, while Paula Badosa managed just eight winners and 14 unforced errors.