Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka overpowers Paula Badosa to near 3rd consecutive Melbourne title
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Aryna Sabalenka moved one win away from becoming the first woman since 1999 to win three consecutive Australian Open titles, recovering from a slow start to beat good friend Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 Thursday night to return to the final. Just 10 minutes in, the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka was down a break and trailed 2-0, 40-love. She kept making unforced errors, shaking her head or gesturing toward her team after many.
But the 26-year-old from Belarus quickly figured things out, especially once Rod Laver Arena's retractable roof was shut late in the first set because of a drizzle. She straightened her strokes, frequently using huge returns and groundstrokes to overpower the 11th-seeded Badosa, who had eliminated No. 3 Coco Gauff on Tuesday to reach her first major semifinal.
Sabalenka grabbed four games in a row and five of six to lead 5-3 and soon was ending that set with a 114 mph (184 kph) ace. She broke to lead 2-1 in the second set — helped by two double-faults by Badosa — and again to go up 4-1. The key statistic: Sabalenka finished with a 32-11 advantage in winners.
That's the sort of excellence that helped Sabalenka win her first major trophy at Melbourne Park in 2023, and she since has added two more — in Australia a year ago and at the U.S. Open last September. The last woman to reach three finals in a row at the year's first Grand Slam tournament was Serena Williams, who won two from 2015-17. Martina Hingis was the most recent woman with a threepeat, doing it from 1997-1999.
