PAULA BADOSA VS. COCO GAUFF | ROUND OF 16 | WTA | BERLIN 2026

 

ARYNA SABALENKA BEATS PAULA BADOSA TO REACH AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2025 WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL

Aryna Sabalenka beats Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 to reach Australian Open 2025 women's singles final.

Aryna Sabalenka in action at Australian Open
© AFP

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka put her close friendship with Paula Badosa aside Thursday to sweep past the Spaniard into a third successive Australian Open final. The Belarusian world number one came home 6-4, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena and will meet either Polish second seed Iga Swiatek or American 19th seed Madison Keys in Saturday's decider. The hard, fast courts of Melbourne Park have been the 26-year-old's happy place. She has now won 20 straight matches at the Australian Open to close in on a third consecutive crown -- something that hasn't happened this century. 

The last person to achieve the feat was Martina Hingis in 1999 and only four other women have completed the three-peat -- Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.

"Super tough match against a friend," she said. "Super happy to be through."

Sabalenka last year described Badosa as her "best friend" and "soulmate", but it was all business on a cool Melbourne evening.

The 11th seed Badosa stunned world number three Coco Gauff in straight sets to reach her maiden Slam semi-final at the age of 27 and came out swinging.

She gifted Sabalenka a break point in the opening game on a double fault, but then nailed some big winners to save and hang on.

It was then the Belarusian's turn to offer two break points to the Spaniard with some sloppy power shots and Badosa capitalised to open a 2-0 lead when a forehand sprayed wide.

But the top seed found her radar and rallied from 0-40 down on Badosa's next serve to break back as her opponent's error-count mounted.

She then won three in a row to surge 4-2 clear as Badosa fluffed some vital shots.

With rain arriving the roof was closed, but it didn't halt the Sabalenka juggernaut, wrapping up the set in 53 minutes with an ace, slapping 19 winners to Badosa's six.

Badosa tumbled to the floor early in set two as she reached for a shot, before giving the thumbs up, with the action briefly delayed as both players burst out laughing. 

But Sabalenka quickly composed herself and broke for a 2-1 lead when Badosa sent down consecutive double faults, then broke again with the Spaniard having no answer to her bruising baseline game.

The win kept alive Sabalenka's quest to still be world number one when she leaves Melbourne.

If she had lost, Swiatek would have taken it back. Should the pair meet in the final, the winner will depart the tournament with the top ranking.

Despite losing Badosa's run to the last four capped a remarkable comeback.

A former world number two, she spent several months out after a brutal back injury in 2023 and last year considered quitting.

Instead, her Melbourne exploits will return her to the top 10 for the first time since October 2022.

- Agence France-Presse 

COCO GAUFF VS. PAULA BADOSA | AO QUARTERFINAL

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PAULA BADOSA SHINES AT THE US OPEN

 

GAUFF SAYS TWEAKED SERVE NEEDS TIME TO TAKE OFF

Reuters 

 American Coco Gauff has accumulated 35 double faults in three matches at the Italian Open, but the world number three said the technical changes to her serve only need time to settle.

A potent serve can be a powerful weapon in tennis, but U.S. Open champion Gauff has struggled with her delivery in the clay swing, averaging almost 10 double faults in the five matches that she played on the slower surface ahead of Rome.

Gauff sent down 11 more in Monday's 5-7 6-4 6-1 win over Paula Badosa, but the 20-year-old said after making the quarter-finals that she was already seeing some improvements ahead of the French Open which starts on May 26.

"I'm going big on the first serve, so I know I'm probably going to miss more. It's just finding the balance of going big but also knowing when to slow down just to get the serve in," Gauff, the 2022 Roland Garros runner-up, told reporters.

"I bet on myself to continue to go big. I know when I go big and my serve goes in it's dangerous. Even though this tournament I want to win, I'm trying to think long-term. I don't want to lose the 120 (mph) serve by not going for it."

World number two Aryna Sabalenka famously struggled with her serve over the last few years before a stint with a biomechanics trainer turned her weakness into a weapon, which she deployed to great effect en route to winning two Australian Opens titles.

Gauff, who is coached by Brad Gilbert and Jean-Christophe Faurel, said she was also trying to make technical tweaks.

"It's tough to do in-season and in-tournament," she said.

"I feel from the night before my last match to now, it's better. It's only been two days. I'm trying."

TSITSIDOSA ERA ENDS AS BADOSA ANNOUNCES SPLIT WITH TSITSIPAS

Reuters 

 Former world number two Paula Badosa is no longer in a romantic relationship with fellow tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas after nearly a year together in the spotlight, the Spaniard said.

Badosa and Tsitsipas made their relationship official on social media during last year's French Open and have often been seen at each other's matches, while also posting pictures on their joint Instagram account.

But the 26-year-old Badosa, who has fallen to number 126 in the world with a string of injuries derailing her career, said that the sport's power couple dubbed Tsitsidosa by fans had split amicably.

"After careful consideration and many cherished moments together, Stefanos and I have decided to amicably part ways," Badosa wrote in an Instagram story on Sunday. "We have shared a journey filled with love and learning, and it is as friends with immense mutual respect that we now choose to move forward on our own paths.

Reuters 

"We are grateful for the support of our friends, family, and all who have been part of our story. As we transition into this new chapter of our lives, we continue to wish each other nothing but the best in all our endeavours."

Former French Open quarter-finalist Badosa said recently that doctors had told her it would be complicated to continue her career because of her chronic back pain.

Twice Grand Slam runner-up Tsitsipas crashed out of his Madrid Masters opener last month but the 25-year-old has had a good run of form on clay otherwise.

He won the Monte Carlo Masters and finished runner-up in Barcelona to prime himself for the French Open which will begin on May 26.

- Reuters 

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