<a href="/tennis" class="sdc-site-localnav__header-title" data-role="nav-header" aria-controls="sdc-site-localnav-body" aria-expanded="false"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 34 34" class="sdc-site-localnav__icon"> <path d="M6.02 12.67c.01.194.087.362.247.525l.188.192L16.52 23.45c.188.19.44.294.706.294s.518-.104.707-.293l10.135-10.134.123-.126c.162-.163.24-.332.248-.53.006-.173-.155-.438-.442-.725-.187-.187-.386-.368-.59-.537-.05-.04-.096-.078-.138-.11l-.496.495-9.193 9.193-.355.354-.354-.354-9.197-9.198-.484-.484c-.043.033-.09.07-.14.112-.204.168-.402.348-.59.536-.285.288-.446.553-.44.727z" /> </svg>Tennis </a> <br>Paula Badosa beats Coco Gauff to reach Australian Open semi-finals; defending-champion Aryna Sabalenka survives scare to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets; <strong>watch all the action from the ATP and WTA Tours on Sky Sports Tennis, Sky Sports+, NOW and the app</strong><br>Tuesday 21 January 2025 11:02, UK<br>Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka survuved a scare to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets, while Coco Gauff's winning run came to an end against Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.<br>Gauff, seeded third, arrived in Melbourne as the most in-form player on tour after winning the WTA Finals to end last season and then all five singles matches at the United Cup, including one against Iga Swiatek.<br>The American went into her last-eight tie with 11th seed Badosa on a 13-match winning streak but it was the Spaniard who came out on top in a 7-5 6-4 victory.<br><br/>Paula Badosa is only the fourth Spanish player in the Open Era to reach a women’s singles semi-final at a Grand Slam – after Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Conchita Martinez and Garbine Muguruza.<br/> <br/>It's Badosa's first WTA top 10 win at a Grand Slam event, having previously held a 0-3 record.<br/> <br/>Coco Gauff is 13-18 at Grand Slams after losing the first set – her last win coming vs Belinda Bencic in the previous round.<br/><br>Badosa feared she may have to retire last year because of a persistent back problem but ended the season strongly, making the quarter-finals of the US Open, and has now hit a new high in Melbourne.<br>"Today I came in and I wanted to play my best game, and I think I did it," she said. "Coco, at the beginning she was playing insane tennis, but I'm super proud of the level I gave today.<br>"A year ago I was here with my back and I didn't know if I had to retire from this sport and now I'm here playing against the best in the world. I won today, I'm in the semi-finals. I will never think that a year after I would be here."<br>Both players held serve until 5-5 in the first set, when Badosa struck before opening up a 5-2 lead in the second set.<br> Live Australian Open scores/schedule <br> Australian Open: Women's singles draw <br> Australian Open: Men's singles draw <br> Australian Open 2025: Dates, seeds and match schedule <br>She was unable to serve it out at the first time of asking but made no mistake the second time around to set up a clash against top seed <strong>Aryna Sabalenka</strong>.<br>Sabalenka survived dropping her first set in Melbourne since the 2023 final against Elena Rybakina as the two-time reigning champion ultimately came through 6-2 2-6 6-3 against Pavlyuchenkova.<br>After cruising through the opening set, Sabalenka looked in trouble as her serve was broken five-straight times by her 27th-seeded opponent as she dropped the second set and started the third sluggishly.<br>Crucially, Sabalenka was also able to break Pavlyuchenkova twice to start the deciding set, edging a tight second game that went to deuce three times, before moving ahead 3-2 as she rattled off eight points in a row.<br>Sabalenka looked the more assured of the two players from then on and, after claiming the decisive break of serve in the eighth game, served things out to reach the semi-finals in Australia once more.<br><br/>Aryna Sabalenka is the second player in the last 15 years to reach three consecutive women’s singles semi-finals at the Australian Open after Serena Williams (2015-2017)..<br/> <br/>She is the first player to win 19+ consecutive women’s singles matches at the Australian Open since Martina Hingis (27 straight wins between 1997 and 2000)..<br/> <br/>In the last five years, only Novak Djokovic (85, before his quarter-final) has won more singles Grand Slam matches than Sabalenka (71, with Iga Swiatek on 70 before her quarter-final).<br/><br>"I was just praying today," Sabalenka said after her win. "It was really difficult, she played amazing tennis, very aggressive. I'm just super happy I was able to somehow magically win this match.<br>"Sometimes it's good to have these tough battles, to go through it, for the last stages of the tournament.<br>"I wish I would win this match in straight sets but it is how it is… I'm glad I'm in the semis and I can't wait to play against Paula."<br>Sabalenka is looking to become the first woman to win the Australian Open three years in a row since Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999. Pavlyuchenkova, meanwhile, falls to 1-8 for her career in Grand Slam quarter-finals, including 0-4 in Melbourne.<br><br/>Upper Austria Ladies Linz (WTA 500) 27 January-February 2<br/> <br/>Singapore Tennis Open (WTA 250) - 27 January-February 2 with Emma Raducanu in action<br/> <br/>ABN AMRO Open Rotterdam (ATP 500) - 3-9 February with Jack Draper in action<br/> <br/>Dallas Open (ATP 500) - 3-9 February<br/> <br/>Delray Beach Open (ATP 250) - 10-16 February<br/> <br/>IEB+ Argentina Open (ATP 250) - 10-16 February<br/> <br/>Open 13 Provence (ATP 250) - 10-16 February<br/> <br/>Transylvania Open (WTA 250) - 3-9 February<br/> <br/>Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) - 3-8 February<br/> <br/>Qatar TotalEnergies Open (WTA 1000) - 9-15 February<br/> <br/>Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (WTA 1000) - 16-22 February<br/><br>Gauff was left to rue 41 unforced errors in her defeat to Badosa but was philosophical afterwards, saying: "Paula was playing great. Maybe some moments in the first set could have gone my way, could have been a different outcome in the first set.<br>"I think it's just a lot more work to do. I'm obviously disappointed, but I'm not completely crushed. I'm looking forward to a lot. Even though I lost today, I feel like I'm in an upward trajectory."<br>Gauff said after her defeat that she was departing the Grand Slam with clear ideas on what to improve in a welcome contrast to how she felt after her US Open title defence ended last year.<br>World No 3 Gauff was far from her aggressive best but said she felt more positive than she did after her fourth-round loss to compatriot Emma Navarro at New York.<br>"Even though I lost today, I feel like I'm on an upward trajectory," Gauff told reporters. "I feel like (at the) US Open I was playing with no solutions, so I think that was more the frustrating part. Today, I feel like I'm playing with solutions.<br>"I know what I need to work on."<br>Gauff parted company with coach Brad Gilbert after the US Open and hired Matt Daly and began making a few adjustments to her game, including grip changes.<br>Things did not go according to plan for Gauff against Badosa, with the 20-year-old identifying her serve as something that needed a bit more work after six double faults.<br>"I needed to work on my serve," Gauff said. "I'm not saying that my serve is where I want it to be, but I worked on it. Obviously a big improvement. I want to continue working on that, continue working on playing aggressive.<br>"I feel like I was ready from the start of this tournament," she added. "Yeah, with each match I found solutions. Then today I was close to doing that as well. I'm obviously disappointed, but I'm not completely crushed."<br><strong>Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or <a href="https://www.nowtv.com/watch-sky-sports-online?DCMP=ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink">stream with NOW</a> and the <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11677/12572660/download-the-sky-sports-app-premier-league-goals-f1-race-control-and-more-at-your-fingertips">Sky Sports app</a>, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13131189/sky-sports-plus-launches-in-august-to-give-more-choice-to-fans-via-live-streams-app-and-new-channel">Find out more here.</a></strong><br> <a href="/" class="svg-logo site-footer__site-logo"> <img class="svg-logo__image" alt="Sky Sports" src="https://e0.365dm.com/tvlogos/channels/Sky-Sports-Logo.svg" onerror="this.onerror=null;this.src='https://e0.365dm.com/tvlogos/channels/Sky-Sports-Logo.png'"> </a> © 2025 Sky UK <br><br><a href="https://news.google.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?oc=5">source</a>