Australian Open 2025: Sabalenka v Badosa, Keys v Swiatek in semi-finals – live
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The best tennis is defined by rivalries – your Edberg v Beckers, your Evert v Navratilovas and so on. And given that between them, they’ve won six of the last 12 grand slams, this era should be about Iga Swiatek’s battle with Aryna Sabalenka. Yet they’re still to meet in the final of one – a strangeness that might be resolved by the end of today.
Swiatek has brutalised her quarter of the draw, dropping no sets and only 14 games in her run to the semis, while Sabalenka was pushed in her last match but, as always seemed inevitable, she did what she needed to do to win; she has not lost in Melbourne since 2022.
But both face tricky challenges this evening/morning. Madison Keys has a new racket with new strings and is better able to control her colossal power-game, which makes her better able to control herself, which makes her a very serious proposition. If she’s at it, she can give Swiatek all sorts of problems (and yes, if she’s not, she’ll get battered).
Similarly, Paulo Badosa hits the ball almost as monstrously as Sabalenka. She too appears to have not only found herself but found a way to manage herself, and has never played better. If she rises to the occasion, she’s a threat. This is going to be great.
