Aryna Sabalenka honored her promise to Paula Badosa by gifting her a luxurious bracelet after defeating her in the Australian Open semifinals.
Badosa, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal after a stunning victory over Coco Gauff, saw her dream run cut short by her close friend Sabalenka in a 6-4, 6-2 loss. During the on-court interview, Sabalenka lightened the moment by telling Badosa she would take her shopping to make up for the heartbreak.
“We both wanted it badly. It’s our dream. Here, we’re just opponents. No matter what happens on the court, we gonna be friends after our matches. It’s tough to do but we agreed on that,” the world No. 1 said. “I promise Paula we go shopping and pay for whatever she wants.”
True to her word, Sabalenka later shared a video on Instagram of Badosa unwrapping the gift, captioning it: “She said she forgave me.” The Spaniard, now world No. 10, appeared delighted with her present, proving that their friendship remains strong despite the high-stakes competition.
Paula Badosa in 2025
Now the world no.10, Paula played her last match on the 5th of February when she surrendered to world no.39 Linda Noskova 6-4 6-1 in the 2nd round in Abu Dhabi (draw).
Currently, during this season Badosa has achieved a compiled 6-4 record. Paula Badosa’s best result of this year was reaching the semifinal at the Australian Open.
Paula Badosa will take on the world no.54 Katerina Siniakova in the 1st round. In the past, they have never competed against each other until now on the main tour.
Paula won 4 titles in her career: 3 on hard courts and 1 on clay courts. (See the list of her titles)
Badosa will compete next in Doha (Qatar TotalEnergies Open)
. She will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 10th of February.Aryna Sabalenka in 2025
Ranked no.1, Aryna played her last contest on the 25th
of January when she lost to world no.7 Madison Keys 6-3 2-6 7-5 in the final of the Australian Open (draw).Currently, during this season the Belarussian has a composed 11-1 match record. Sabalenka has won 1 title in Brisbane. The Belarussian was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka will come up against Petra Kvitova in the final on Saturday at 6:00 pm on CENTRE COURT. Their current head to head is 3-2 for Kvitova.
Aryna clinched 1 title in 2025 in Brisbane. Sabalenka got to the final at the Australian Open.
The Belarussian won 18 titles in her career: 14 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Sabalenka has scheduled to play next in Doha (Qatar TotalEnergies Open). She will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 10th of February.
Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka played each other 8 times. The head to head is 6-2 for Sabalenka. Previously, the last time they squared off, Aryna Sabalenka won 6-4 6-2 in the semifinal in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 23rd of January 2025.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka |
| Embed from Getty Images |