Aryna Sabalenka will have the chance to become the first woman in 26 years to win three successive Australian Open titles after reaching the Melbourne final with a commanding win over Paula Badosa.
Belarusian top seed Sabalenka, who previously described Badosa as her “soulmate”, recovered from an early setback to win 6-4 6-2.
Badosa, contesting her first major semi-final, quickly went 2-0 up but the Spanish 11th seed would win just four of the next 16 games.
Sabalenka will face Iga Swiatek or Madison Keys in the final, where she will aim to emulate Martina Hingis’ three straight titles between 1997-99.
“Just saying that, I have goosebumps. I am so proud of myself and my team that we were able to put ourselves in such a situation,” Sabalenka said.
“It’s a privilege and if I will be able to put my name in the history [books] it’s going to mean the world to me.
“At first I was dreaming to win at least one Grand Slam and now I have this opportunity and it’s incredible.”
It was a 20th straight victory at the Australian Open for two-time defending champion Sabalenka.
Sabalenka will keep her world number one ranking if Swiatek loses in the semi-finals – and if the Pole advances, the winner of Saturday’s championship match will take the top spot.
Should Swiatek join Sabalenka in the final, it would be the first time since 2018 that the Australian Open women’s final has featured the top two seeds.
Badosa, having stunned American third seed Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals, benefitted in the early stages as a tense Sabalenka conceded an immediate break of serve with four unforced errors.
Badosa was within a point of taking a 3-0 lead before Sabalenka switched up a gear.
The three-time major winner then took charge, reeling off four games in a row and was unrelenting from there.
Despite their off-court relationship, both players gave little away, barely exchanging a glance as they stayed focused on their respective tasks.
But, in a rare glimpse into their friendship, they shared relieved smiles after Badosa fell at the start of the second set before raising a reassuring thumb as she lay on the court.
What started as a fiercely-contested match began to drift away from Badosa when she gifted Sabalenka control of set two, conceding a break of serve with back-to-back double faults
Another double fault in the fifth game gave Sabalenka a chance for a second break, which she grabbed with one of her 32 winners before serving out victory in one hour and 26 minutes.
Sabalenka, who was later seen consoling Badosa in the players’ area, said: “It was a super tough match against a friend, I’m super happy to see her at her highest level.
“After a couple of battles against each other we have spoken and decided to put it aside, and here we both wanted it badly.”
