The Belarusian and number 1 in the world, Aryna Sabalenka won 6-4, 6-2 over the Spanish Paula Badosa (11th) and reached the final of the Australian Openwhere they will face the surprising American Madison Keys (19th).
Sabalenka, true to her style, was very offensive and firm from the back of the court, a situation that allowed her to beat someone who is one of her best friends without major problems.
The Belarusian will go this Saturday morning in search of her third title in Australiaa tournament in which you feel like you are in your backyard.
Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka defeated Paula Badosa without problems and goes for the three-time championship
The leader of the women’s world ranking is going through a great moment, since won three of the last five tournaments he played (the US Open and the WTA in Wuhan in 2024 and Brisbane in 2025).
On her way to the semifinals, Sabalenka had defeated Sloane Stephens, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Clara Tauson, Mirra Andreeva (14th) and Anastasia Pavliuchenkova (27th, the only one who won a set from her).
Despite the defeat, Badosa will leave Australia with very good feelings and knowing that at her best level she can be competitive against the best in the world. In addition, it will climb to ninth position in the ranking.
His rival in the final It will be the American Madison Keys (19th)who gave the big surprise and eliminated the Polish Iga Swiatek (2nd) in a true great game that was defined in the tie-break match.
Keys, 29, reached her second Grand Slam final (she had already reached the 2017 US Open) after winning 5-7, 6-1 and 7-6(8).in a meeting that lasted two and a half hours.
The American gave the hit of the tournament to beat the polishwhich is the most dominant player so far this decade and who had lost only seven games in her last four appearances.
The key for Keys was to put Swiatek in trouble in each of his service turnsgiven that He managed to break him eight times. Even the Pole, winner of five Grand Slam titles, even served for a match in the twelfth game of the third set and could not close it.
The grand final, which will be on Saturday with a time to be confirmed, will be the sixth confrontation between Sabalenka and Keysin a history that has the Belarusian as the leader with four wins against only one for the North American.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
