Paula Badosa thought she might retire due to a back injury. A year later, she's in to the semifinals against close friend Aryna Sabalenka.

Aryna Sabalenka will face close friend Paula Badosa in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after battling to victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The two-time defending champion’s 18-match winning run at Melbourne Park looked in serious danger when she lost the second set on a windy Rod Laver Arena.

Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka suffered a scare before reaching the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday and a date with Coco Gauff's conqueror Paula Badosa.

Paula Badosa was contemplating the unwelcome prospect of early retirement and life after tennis as she struggled with a debilitating back injury. Fast forward 12 months and the resurgent Spaniard is into her maiden major semi-final,

Badosa reached the last four of a grand slam event for the first time in her career – the first Spanish woman to do so since Garbine Muguruza at Melbourne in 2020. Badosa, who w