Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and two-time champion at the Australian Open, survived a major scare against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to advance to the semifinals. Sabalenka was twice a break down in the deciding set,

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open with a battling 6-2 2-6 6-3 win over Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, as her quest for a third straight title at Melbourne Park gained momentum.

Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a third consecutive Australian Open championship will continue after she got past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a surprisingly difficult quarterfinal.

After coming as close to defeat in Melbourne as she has for three long years, trailing by a break in the nerve-racking final set of her quarter-final match, Aryna Sabalenka drew on her unshakable mental toughness to find a way through to the semi-finals of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Sabalenka appeared on course to cruise through to the last four, and a clash with Paula Badosa, when she took the opening set with ease

The women’s singles defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka, is all set to face one of her biggest challenges in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 2025 on Tuesday, January 21, in the form of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

She is now 19-0 at the slam, dating back to her dominant performance in 2023 when she dropped only one set en route to her first major.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova said her Australian Open quarter-final loss to top seed Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday would not blot her solid start to the season and the Russian hoped to carry the momentum forward.