On January 21st, Beijing time, two matches of the women's singles quarter-finals at the Australian Open were concluded first. Sabalenka defeated Pavlyuchenkova 2-1, and Badosa eliminated Gauff 2-0. As a result, Sabalenka and Badosa met in the semi-finals, while the No. 3 seed Gauff was eliminated early, ending her 11-match winning streak across seasons.
Gauff, the No. 3 seed, faced Badosa, the No. 11 seed. They had previously played six times, with each winning three matches. Before the match, Gauff was more favored to advance, having won nine consecutive matches at the start of the year and 13 consecutive matches across seasons. However, Badosa proved her strength in the match.
In the first set, both players held serve for the first ten games, reaching a 5-5 tie. Then, in the eleventh game, Badosa achieved a crucial break, followed by holding serve in the twelfth game, winning the set 7-5. In the second set, there was a battle of breaks, with Badosa breaking three times and Gauff twice. The key break in the eighth game gave Badosa a 5-3 lead, which she maintained by holding serve in the tenth game, winning the set 6-4 and the match 2-0, surprisingly eliminating Gauff.
Thus, Badosa became the first player to advance to the women's singles semi-finals at this year's Australian Open. She is also the fourth Spanish player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam event and the first Spanish female player to do so in the last five years.
Sabalenka, the No. 1 seed, faced Pavlyuchenkova, the No. 27 seed. In their previous encounters, Sabalenka had one win and two losses, but she had already achieved an impressive 18-match winning streak at the Australian Open.
In the first set, Sabalenka was in hot form, breaking twice in the fourth and eighth games, easily winning the set 6-2. In the second set, Pavlyuchenkova returned the favor with a 6-2 score, breaking three times in the third, fifth, and seventh games, while Sabalenka only managed one break, extending the suspense to the decisive set.
Facing Pavlyuchenkova's challenge, Sabalenka demonstrated the power of a defending champion, achieving a crucial break in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. She then successfully held serve in the ninth game, winning the set 6-3 and sending Pavlyuchenkova out of the tournament.
With this victory, Sabalenka extended her winning streak at the Australian Open to 19 matches, advancing strongly to the semi-finals and aiming for a third consecutive championship title, which Zheng Qinwen could only watch from the sidelines.