Paula Badosa explained her experiences of playing against both Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
The Spaniard’s best ever run at a Grand Slam came to an end in the Australian Open semi-finals, courtesy of the World number one.
Sabalenka claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory to reach Saturday’s championship match for the third successive year.
The Belarusian is the first player to achieve this feat since Serena Williams and she is bidding to become the first player to win the Australian Open three times in a row since Martina Hingis.
What did Paula Badosa say is different about playing Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek?
Paula Badosa made a promising start against Aryna Sabalenka, winning the first two games of the match.
But Sabalenka broke serve in the next game and never looked back, as her level increased throughout the match. Sabalenka blasted 26 winners as she went on to win in one hour and 26 minutes.
There is now a possibility Sabalenka could face Swiatek in the Australian Open final, and Badosa opened up on the differences between playing the WTA Tour’s top two players.
“Similar, and you have to bring your best out when you play against them all the time,” Sabalenka said. “They’re, like, bringing you to the limits. You have to maybe take more risks against them. That’s what I found when I played against both of them.
“But I think maybe the difference, what makes them different, is that with Iga, when I played against her, I felt she destroyed me physically. She’s, like, so intense all the time, all the time very, very intense.
“It was like for me, of course, it’s a tennis match, but it was like a physical battle. I found, like, her legs are insane. She’s so fast. With Aryna, it’s more like winners everywhere.
-“Sometimes you’re like, I don’t know, I’m just walking around the court because I feel like she’s playing a PlayStation. Today she was like that.
“So sometimes I’m like, What’s happening? I don’t even have time to think. It’s completely different games, but at the same time you just have to bring the best out of you if you want to win them.”
What did Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka say to each other after their Australian Open semi-final?
Sabalenka and Badosa hugged one another at the net following their Australian Open semi-final.
The pair put their friendship to one side to contest the biggest match of their rivalry so far, and shortly after the contest they were filmed speaking with one another in the locker room.
While speaking to reporters post-match, Badosa opened up on what she and Sabalenka were saying to each other.
“That it was really unfair for me that she played this level today,” Badosa said with a smile. “I was expecting, of course, a good level, but maybe not that much.
“But no, she came, like, to say that she played three semifinals before she won a title. She was very proud of my improvement lately, especially with all I’ve been through.
“So, yeah, we were just joking around. I’m really happy that, look, if I have to lose against somebody, of course I want to lose against world No. 1 and against Aryna, and I wish her the best.”
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