3 milestones Aryna Sabalenka achieved by reaching Australian Open 2025 final

Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka beat her good friend Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Australian Open 2025. The top seed has advanced to her third consecutive final at the venue and will aim to lay her hands on the winner's trophy yet again.

Prior to her win over Badosa, Sabalenka beat Sloane Stephens, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Clara Tauson, Mirra Andreeva, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She has dropped only one set so far, against Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals. It was also the second set she conceded since 2023 when she lost the first set in the final against Elena Rybakina.

Sabalenka's win against Badosa improved her record this year to 11-0 as she won the title in Brisbane prior to the season's first Major. While her mission isn't over just yet, the World No. 1 has still hit some milestones with her run to the final here, and here's a quick look at them:

---

#3. Aryna Sabalenka became the third player in the last 10 years to tally 20 consecutive wins at the same Major

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka at the Italian Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Sabalenka's semifinal win over Badosa was her 20th consecutive win at the Australian Open. Only two other players in the past decade have managed to string together more wins than the Belarusian at the same Major.

Serena Williams was the first to achieve this feat. Her victory at the US Open 2012 kicked off a period of dominance for her at the venue. She defended her title the following year, and once again in 2014. Her winning ways continued until Roberta Vinci stunned her in the semifinals in 2015.

Williams' loss to the Italian snapped her 26-match winning streak at the venue. The defeat also brought an end to her hopes of achieving the Calendar Year Grand Slam, having won the other three Majors that year prior to the US Open.

Sabalenka's chief rival Iga Swiatek accomplished this feat with her impressive run at the French Open in recent years. She won her second title in Paris in 2022 and has remained unbeaten at the venue since then. She's currently on a 21-match winning streak at the French Open following her most recent triumph in 2024.

---

#2. Aryna Sabalenka became the eighth player to reach three consecutive Australian Open finals

Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Reaching back-to-back finals at a Major isn't an easy task, and is a testament to a player's greatness. Naturally, making three finals on the trot on the biggest stage then puts a player in elite company. Sabalenka became the eighth woman to reach three straight finals at the Australian Open in the Open Era.

Aussies Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong were the first to do this. The former made three consecutive finals between 1969 and 1971 and won all of them. The latter advanced to six straight finals from 1971 to 1976. She came up short in the first three and made up for those losses by winning her next three finals.

Martina Navratilova reached successive finals Down Under between 1981 and 1983 and triumphed in two of those three finals. Steffi Graf hoisted the winner's trophy thrice in a row starting from 1988. Monica Seles and Martina Hingis followed in her footsteps with their own hat-tricks from 1991 to 1993, and 1997 to 1999, respectively.

Serena Williams was the last player to book her place in the summit clash of the Australian Open for three straight years. She did this from 2015 to 2017 and won two of those three finals.

---

#1. Aryna Sabalenka became the fifth player to reach at least five consecutive Major finals on hardcourts

Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Sabalenka won her maiden Major title at the Australian Open 2023 and was also the runner-up at the US Open that year. She continued to dominate the hardcourts Majors in 2024 and swept both of them. She has now reached the championship round in Melbourne for the third year in a row and has simultaneously reached her fifth straight Major final on hardcourts.

Only four other players in the Open Era have this achievement to their name. Navratilova was the first to do this by reaching five consecutive US Open finals between 1983 and 1987. Despite reaching a couple of Australian Open finals during this period, they aren't counted in this streak as the tournament used to be held on grass before 1988.

Graf surpassed Navratilova's record with seven consecutive Major finals on hard courts. Her streak started at the US Open in 1987 and concluded at the Australian Open in 1990. She won five of those seven finals. Seles advanced to five hardcourt finals between 1991 and 1993 and won all.

Hingis matched Graf's record with seven straight Major finals on hard courts. Her streak started with her maiden Major title at the Australian Open in 1997 and came to an end at the same venue with a runner-up finish in 2001. Sabalenka now finds herself in the same company as these legends of the sport.