Aryna Sabalenka passes a test of nerves, Coco Gauff has to give up her hopes: While the defending champion from Belarus fought with great effort to defeat the Russian tennis player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkowa, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year is over for the former US Open winner Gauff. Gauff, 20, lost to Paula Badosa of Spain in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Badosa, number twelve in the world, won 7:5, 6:4 and will face favorite Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
World number one Sabalenka, 26, is aiming for her third title in a row in Melbourne. However, in the quarterfinals against Pavlyuchenkova, which went over three sets and ended 6:2, 2:6, 6:3, she had big problems with her fearless opponent. “I just prayed today,” Sabalenka said. “It was very difficult, she plays great tennis and I’m happy that I somehow magically won this match.”
The 20-year-old American Coco Gauff was “of course disappointed, but not completely dejected” after her defeat, as she said afterwards: “There is still a lot of work ahead of me,” she explained. In the midday heat of well over 30 degrees, Paula Badosa rewarded herself with the first semi-final of a Grand Slam tournament in her career. “I’m very proud to achieve this,” she said. Badosa was already number one in the world rankings in 2022, but then had to recover from a serious back injury. There was a point where “doctors told me it would be complicated to continue my career,” she said last year. In the meantime, she fell out of the top 100 of the ranking and only returned to the top in the world in 2024. Of course she knows that her next challenge will be difficult: Sabalenka has now won 19 matches in a row in Melbourne. The two are very good friends outside of the tennis court.
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