MELBOURNE -- Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka continued her Melbourne Park mastery on Thursday night to book a spot in her third consecutive final at the Australian Open. The World No.1 defeated No.11 seed Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals to win her 20th straight match at the season's first major.

Sabalenka continued her dominance in 2025, improving to 11-0 on the season.

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She now moves within a win of completing a rare three-peat. On Saturday, Sabalenka is bidding to become the first woman to win three Australian Open titles in a row since Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999. 

On Thursday, Sabalenka, 26, became the first woman to make three consecutive Australian Open finals since Serena Williams and the youngest since Martina Hingis.

Sabalenka will face either World No.2 Iga Swiatek or No.14 Madison Keys in the final. 

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Sabalenka improved her record to 6-2 over Badosa. The Spaniard is set to return to the PIF WTA Rankings Top 10 after making her first Grand Slam semifinal. On her way to the final four, Badosa secured her first Top 10 win at a major by defeating No.3 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.

Badosa opened the match in near-perfect form, with play initially starting under a partially opened roof at Rod Laver Arena before it was fully closed due to rain. Badosa held a 2-0, 40-0 lead but could not convert her triple-game point. Sabalenka steadied herself to break Badosa in an eight-minute game to put the match back on serve, and the World No.1 ran off four consecutive games.

"After Love-2, Love-40, after that I'd rate that I played really great tennis," Sabalenka said. "I mean, I played an incredible match, I think.

"I think when I broke her twice and I was 3-2 up, I felt like, Okay, I'm back. I felt my game much better. I was like, Okay, now it's time to step in."

After building a comfortable 4-2 lead, Sabalenka never looked back. She did not face another break point in the 1-hour and 26-minute match. 

Sabalenka finished the match with 26 winners to 18 unforced errors, while Badosa could manage only eight winners along with 14 unforced errors. 

"The first set was really tight, a good level," Badosa said. "Then in the second set she started to be very, very aggressive. Everything was working. Everything she was doing today, touching today, could become gold. She played the best match not even of the week. From the last months, for sure.

"If she plays like this, I mean, we can already give her the trophy."