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.

Aryna Sabalenka (No. 1 ranking) will face Paula Badosa (No. 12) in the semifinals at the Australian Open on Thursday, January 23.Sabalenka secured a three-set victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Paula Badosa has continued her resurgence here at the Australian Open, a dogged refusal to back down and take more seeds down, including Coco Gauff, in straight sets during the Quarter-Final match. Her shot selection was measured; she never gave up being consistent from the baseline and was also clutch on those return games in beating Gauff.

Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a third consecutive Australian Open championship will continue after she got past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a surprisingly difficult quarterfinal.