Aryna Sabalenka has become the youngest player in over 20 years to reach a third consecutive final at the Australian Open after powering past Spain’s Paula Badosa.
Sabalenka overcame some early nerves to beat Badosa 6-4, 6-2, and register her 20th consecutive win at Melbourne Park. Becoming only the third woman in the past 20 years to have won 20 matches in a row at a Grand Slam event after Serena William (US Open and Wimbledon) and Iga Swiatek (French Open). Furthermore, she is the first world No.1 to reach a women’s Australian Open final since Ash Barty in 2022.
Power and consistency were Key to Sabalenka’s latest victory. She produced a total of 31 winners, which was 20 more than that of Badosa.
“That was a super tough match against a friend,” said Sabalenka.
“I’m super happy for her to see her on her highest level. It was a tough match. Tough battle.
“I’m super happy to be through this difficult match.”
Throughout the opening set, the reigning champion was given a stern test. At the start of the match, she struggled to find her footing and made a series of mistakes that resulted in her falling behind 0-2. Meanwhile, Badosa initially did an impressive job absorbing her rival’s powerful ball striking. Despite the blip, Sabalenka managed to turn her fortunes around with the help of a four-game winning run which gave her enough of a margin to close out the opener with an ace down the line.
“I have no idea how,” Sabalenka replied when asked her she managed to turn her fortunes around.
“I was just trying to build for the next games.
“I wasn’t thinking about winning the game and then somehow I was able to turn around the game.”
Tightening her grip on the match, the 26-year-old capitalized on a costly Badosa double fault to break early in the second set en route to a 3-1 lead. Badosa was rattled by the intensity of the world No.1 and at times looked baffled about what to do on the court as she glared towards her camp. Meanwhile, Sabalenka continued her surge with a clear forehand winner to break for a second time and edge closer to victory. Serving for the match, she stormed to 40-0 lead before converting her first match point with another forehand winner.
“I think after a couple of battles against each other, we spoke and we decided to put it aside,” she said of her close friendship with Badosa.
“No matter what’s happened on the court, we are going to be friends after our matches. It’s tough to do but we agreed on that.”
So far this season, Sabalenka has not lost a match and only two players have managed to take a set off her. They were Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarter-finals and Polina Kudermetova in the final of the Brisbane International.
Should she claim the title on Saturday, Sabalenka would become the first woman since Martina Hingis to win three Australian Open titles in a row.
“I’m so proud of myself. I’m proud of my team that we were able to put ourselves in such a situation,” she said.
“It’s going to be a privilege if I’m able to put my name in history, it’s going to mean a lot.
“At first I was dreaming of winning at least one Grand Slam. Now I have this opportunity. It’s incredible.
“I’m going to go out and leave everything I have in the final.”
Sabalenka’s victory has boosted her chances of retaining her world No.1 status, which she would have lost if Badosa had beaten her. Should she face Iga Swiatek in the final, whoever wins will be at the top of the standings next week. Swiatek will face Madison Keys in her semi-final encounter.
“It’s all about having fun during the next day and kind of like putting aside tennis. I’m going to practice a little bit.” She said of her preparations for Saturday’s title match.
Sabalenka is the fifth woman in the Open era to reach the final of five consecutive Grand Slam hard court events.