Thursday’s women’s semifinals at Australian Open 2025 showcase a quartet of experienced players who blend power, athleticism and variety. Three of the four have either won a Grand Slam or reached a final while the other has been as high as No.2 in the world.
MORE: All the results from AO 2025
Let’s take a closer look at Aryna Sabalenka’s clash with good friend Paula Badosa, and Iga Swiatek’s meeting with the evergreen Madison Keys.
Will Sabalenka and Swiatek emerge victorious to prompt a first meeting in a Grand Slam final?
Aryna Sabalenka [1] v Paula Badosa [11]
There was a time on the tennis court, when things weren’t going her way, when one wondered if it would all be too much ‘mentally’ (a word often cited in tennis, such is the psychological nature of the sport) for Sabalenka.
Now in that scenario, one waits to see how the two-time defending champion will try to turn things around with her deep toolkit.
This was noted by her quarterfinal opponent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who led by a break twice in the third set before Sabalenka rallied. Sabalenka hadn’t dropped a set at Melbourne Park since the 2023 final.
“She’s obviously more mature,” said the 33-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, who like Keys was a teen prodigy. “You can tell. Mentally stronger, for sure. I think she could get frustrated a lot faster in the match.
“Also, her body language. Like, you could see she was frustrated before. I think this part she definitely improved a lot.”
That calmness might also result because Sabalenka holds options in shaping points. Besides the ever-present power, her movement, slice and net play have all accelerated in recent seasons.
While Sabalenka can still author double faults, she spoke of how fixing her previous serving woes made a massive difference.
Those serve issues almost led her to retire.
Badosa almost retired last year around the clay court swing due to a stress fracture in her back. Cortisone injections weren’t helping much and the Spaniard couldn’t see light at the end of the tunnel.
But tweaks to her fitness regime and nutrition have made all the difference for the maiden Grand Slam semifinalist, who upset a surging Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.
“The puzzle started to look better. I started to play more matches,” said Badosa, who ended up being named the Tour’s comeback player of the year in 2024 to the delight of Sabalenka.
They will put their friendship aside, though, on court.
“We know how to separate things very well,” Badosa said. “We spoke about it so many times.
“We admire, respect each other. It's going to be a battle inside the court, of course, but outside it's super normal.”
Ominously for Badosa, Sabalenka has won their last five matches.
But could Badosa and Novak Djokovic be dovetailing at AO 2025? They both could land the title by beating the top three ranked players in the world.
Iga Swiatek [2] v Madison Keys [19]
Swiatek is having one of those tournaments, surrendering a minuscule 14 games in five matches.
Her path resembles Roland Garros 2020, when the Pole - who still wasn’t sure back then if she would play tennis for a living - opened her Grand Slam account without conceding a set.
The trajectory was similar at AO 2023 through three rounds, only for Elena Rybakina to defeat Swiatek in the fourth round.
So indeed, Swiatek wasn’t about to ponder reaching Saturday’s final, especially since Keys is the type of big ball striker, like Rybakina, who has ousted the 23-year-old at a hard court major.
“These tournaments are long,” said Swiatek, into her first semifinal at Melbourne Park since 2022. “Even if you start amazing, something can happen during the two weeks.”
In Keys, Swiatek encounters a second consecutive American after toppling US Open semifinalist Emma Navarro.
If Navarro was jaded — having gone the distance four matches in a row — how will Keys fare?
Unusually for the soon-to-be 30-year-old, she featured in two lead-in tournaments. Perhaps it was to familiarise herself with both a new racquet and service motion, tweaks made in line with her coach, husband and former Roland Garros junior winner, Bjorn Fratangelo.
Keys prospered, reaching the quarterfinals at the ASB Classic, then winning the Adelaide International against pal Jessica Pegula.
But Keys — whose first Grand Slam semifinal came in Melbourne 10 years ago — has gone the distance in her last two matches and in three of the past four, including on Wednesday against Elina Svitolina.
Like Sabalenka, Swiatek holds a lopsided winning record against her quarterfinal opponent, 4-1. In those four losses, Keys tallied a total of 15 games, though three were on Swiatek’s favoured clay.
Keys did overcome Swiatek on a hard court in her beloved Cincinnati in 2022 in straight sets. But even if she doesn’t prevail, she might look at the glass as half full rather than half empty.
“I’m getting to the point where I'm starting to appreciate my career for what it has been, and it doesn't have to have a Grand Slam in order for me to look at it and say, ‘I've done a really good job,’” the 2017 US Open finalist said.
“Now, while that's obviously still the goal, there have been periods of my career where it felt like if I didn't win one, then I hadn't done enough, and I didn't live up to my potential.
“I think that… it took a lot of the fun out of the game, and there were times where it felt paralyzing out on the court because it… felt as if I needed it to happen instead of giving myself the opportunity to go out and potentially do it.”
Keys has, impressively, given herself another opportunity.
They are there, too, for Sabalenka, Badosa and Swiatek.