WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka consoles emotional Paula Badosa in incredibly sweet gesture after Australian Open SF

Paula Badosa was distraught after her straight-sets defeat to good friend and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open semifinal on Thursday. During Sabalenka's post-match on-court interview, the cameras caught sight of Badosa sitting in the warm-up area, visibly upset by her failure to reach the final.

In truth, the Spaniard barely dented the Sabalenka armor over the two sets, although she did manage to compete on even terms for the first set. However, once Sabalenka shifted into gear, Badosa wasn't able to keep up. The final 6-4, 6-2 scoreline did not flatter the Belarusian.

Aryna Sabalenka was later filmed consoling Paula Badosa in the warm-up area, and the two embraced:

Badosa still has much to be proud of - her Australian Open run to the semifinals is her best showing in a Grand Slam, and featured wins over Wang Xinyu, Talia Gibson, Marta Kostyuk, and Olga Danilović, before a career-best win against high-flying American Coco Gauff, the WTA's world No. 3, in the quarterfinal.

27-year-old Badosa is still recovering from an injury-plagued 2024, when her world ranking fluctuated from No. 66 at the beginning of the year, to No. 140 in May, and then back up to No. 12 by the end of the year.

A recurrent back injury was responsible for the Spaniard's uneven season, but her effort to put the injury behind her was rewarded at the end of the year when she was named the WTA's Comeback Player of the Year.

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Aryna Sabalenka too strong for Paula Badosa and favored to win the Australian Major

2025 Australian Open - Day 12 - Source: Getty

Good friends off the court, Aryna Sabalenka was at pains in her post-match interview to console Paula Badosa and offer her a post-tournament shopping trip to salve her wounded ego.

"We both want it badly. It’s our dream. But here, we’re just opponents, no matter what happens on and off the court. We are going to be friends after our matches. It’s tough to do, but we agreed on that. We’re doing it pretty well," Sabalenka said.

"I hope she’s still my friend. I'm sure she'll hate me for the next hour, day or two, but I'm okay with that, I can handle that. After that I think we are back to being friends, back to go out together and go shopping. I promise, Paula, we’ll go shopping and I’ll pay for whatever you want," she added.

Looking ahead, the irrepressible Sabalenka is chasing her third Australian Open title in succession and has looked unstoppable this year. The Belarusian has been able to hit the ball so much harder than Badosa, who was unable to find the angles and shot length that Pavyluchenkova was able to conjure up to extend Sabalenka in the quarterfinal.

In the second semifinal, Iga Swiatek, the WTA's No. 2 is favored to overcome Madison Keys, but it will take a monumental effort by either of them to derail Aryna Sabalenka's Major run. Badosa, meanwhile, must lick her wounds and take the positives from a still-successful Australian Open into the rest of the season.