Aryna Sabalenka is well on track for a third successive Australian Open title after clinching a semi-final spot in Melbourne.
Sabalenka has been praised for mixing up her game at the Australian Open, where the 26-year-old is the top seed.
WTA number one Sabalenka beat 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in their quarter-final tie 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 at Rod Laver Arena.
Sabalenka recently struggled at Rod Laver Arena, which incidentally is the venue for her semi-final meeting with Paula Badosa.
The Belarusian is currently chasing a fourth Grand Slam title this month, having beaten Elena Rybakina and Qinwen Zheng in the last two Australian Open finals.
Aryna Sabalenka emulates Martina Hingis and Serena Williams with Australian Open quarter-final win
Martina Hingis is the last player to win three consecutive titles at the Grand Slam, although Sabalenka has now managed to match the legendary figure in another area with her latest win.
As per OptaAce, she is the first player to win 19+ consecutive Australian Open women’s singles matches since Hingis, who managed 27 between 1997 and 2000.
Moreover, Sabalenka has become the first player to reach six consecutive women’s singles Grand Slam hard court semi-finals since Serena Williams, who achieved that feat between the 2014 US Open and the 2017 Australian Open.
What is the head-to-head record between Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa?
Given her formidable form on hard courts and indeed her world ranking going into the event, Sabalenka was backed by many to lift the trophy once more.
And despite that pressure on her shoulders, the Belarusian has more than lived up to expectations, with the likes of other contenders Qinwen Zheng and Jasmine Paolini having lost early on.
But 11th seed Badosa does represent a real threat to the world number one, with the Spaniard having just knocked out third seed Coco Gauff.
However, as is the case with Sabalenka and many of her recent opponents, she boasts a positive head-to-head record over Badosa.
The former has won the last five of their seven WTA meetings, the latest of which was a 2024 French Open round of 32 triumph.
