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2025 Australian Open
WTA Tour
Semi-finals
Aryna Sabalenka v Paula Badosa
Melbourne Park
Melbourne, Australia
Thursday, 23 January 2025
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka will be looking to reach her third consecutive
Australian Open final when she takes on Paula Badosa in the semi-finals on Thursday, January 23.
The Belarusian won her maiden major singles title at Melbourne Park in 2023 and repeated the feat in 2024; she is aiming to become the first women to lift the trophy three years in a row since Martina Hingis in 1999.
Sabalenka warmed up for the first Grand Slam event of the year by beating Polina Kudermetova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Brisbane International to win her 18th singles title.
The 26-year-old dropped just one set en-route the last-four in Melbourne which came in the quarter-finals against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Sabalenka will join an illustrious list of female players if she wins a third straight title, with only Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Hingis having achieved that feat.
"Well, you know, it's a big question," Sabalenka said, when asked if she can follow in their footsteps.
"I'm really happy that I put myself in this situation where I have the opportunity to become one of them. To be next to those names, wow, that's just a dream.
"Of course, it has always been in the back of my mind that I can do that. But you know, my main focus is, as you said, step by step."
World No.12 Badosa is making her first-ever semi-final appearance, having never got past the fourth round in five previous attempts at the Australian Open.
The Spaniard also only dropped one set in the opening five rounds - against Marta Kostyuk in the third round - and she disposed of No.3 seed Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals, triumphing 7-5, 6-4.
Badosa featured in two tournaments at the first of the year, although she didn't get very far in either, losing to Elina Avanesyan in the round of 32 in the Brisbane International and Ashlyn Krueger in the round of 16 in the Adelaide International.
Last five Australian Open winners
2024 - Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)
2023 - Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)
2022 - Ashleigh Barty (AUS)
2021 - Naomi Osaka (JPN)
2020 - Sofia Kenin (USA)
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