Good things come to those who wait as the saying goes -- but Madison Keys's wait may have seemed interminable.
Top seed Sabalenka proved to be at another level, though, racking up 32 winners for the match to leave Badosa chasing shadows under the lights at Rod Laver Arena.
Madison Keys, 29, is the fourth-oldest first-time Grand Slam champion in the professional era.
Aryna Sabalenka will battle American 19th seed Madison Keys in the final on Saturday looking to become the first woman since Martina Hingis from 1997-99 to win the Australian Open title three times in a row.
Aryna Sabalenka overwhelmed Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 with a impressive display of raw power to reach her third successive Australian Open final on Thursday.
Svitolina wants to give Ukraine a 'little light' after reaching quarter-finals
'I guess it'll force me to read books more, be more of a productive human probably.'
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys made rocky starts on Thursday but eventually secured contrasting victories to set up a heavy metal Australian Open final showdown
Images from Day 8 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
A ruthless Iga Swiatek slammed the door shut on German lucky loser Eva Lys with a 6-0 6-1 win on Monday to breeze into the quarter-finals of the year's opening Grand Slam for the second time.
On-court coaching, previously banned and punishable by point deductions, disqualification or even suspension from tournaments is being positively encouraged at Melbourne Park with "coaching pods"
Ukrania tennis player Yuliia Starodubtseva's home town of Kakhovka in southern Ukraine has been occupied by Moscow forces since the early days of the invasion, which Russia calls a special military operation.
Aryna Sabalenka opened her bid for a third straight Australian Open title with an easy victory over Sloane Stephens on Sunday.
Aryna Sabalenka will bid for a third Australian Open title in succession as if she was going for her first
All the action from Day 4 at the Australian Open on Wednesday
Carlos Alcaraz secured his passage into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3 victory over Nuno Borges.
Aryna Sabalenka is the red-hot favourite at Melbourne Park, where another victory would give her a fourth major title and widen the gap in the rankings to Poland's Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff of the United States.
Aryna Sabalenka took a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.
Novak Djokovic's bid for a 100th ATP Tour title gained momentum on Thursday
Djokovic tamed local favourite Rinky Hijikata 6-3, 6-3 in what was the top seeded Serbian's first tour-level singles match since October.
After successfully defending her Australian Open trophy in January, Aryna Sabalenka won the US Open crown in September for her third Grand Slam title.
Olympic gold medallist Zheng, making her WTA Finals debut, got off to a great start against the Czech eight seed, with an early break of serve to take a 3-0 lead.
Third seed Alexander Zverev eased past home favourite Ugo Humbert
Aryna Sabalenka's return to top spot in the WTA rankings after leapfrogging Iga Swiatek has set up a thrilling end to the season, with next month's WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia likely to prove decisive in the race to end the year as world number one.
Poland's Iga Swiatek will play in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga in November, where they face hosts Spain in the opening match, the world number two said on Tuesday
Sabalenka spent eight weeks at the summit last year before Swiatek overtook her with a victory at the season-ending WTA Finals and the Belarusian hopes for a longer stay as 'N1'.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka shook off a second-set blip to win three back-to-back Wuhan Open titles after beating Chinese fifth seed and home favourite Zheng Qinwen
Karolina Muchova snapped U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka's 15-match win streak to shock her 7-6(5) 2-6 6-4 in the China Open quarter-finals on Friday, while Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat Mirra Andreeva 5-7 6-0 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
Jannik Sinner secured the year-end world number one ranking by beating Czech 30th seed Tomas Machac in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals.
Chess governing body FIDE's general assembly agreed to consider lifting parts of a ban on Russian and Belarusian players imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, in a vote on Sunday in Budapest.
The celebrities who graced the men's and women's singles finals at Arthur Ashe Stadium on the weekend.
Tiger-tattooed Aryna Sabalenka clawed her way back from injury and disappointment to hoist the US Open trophy at last.
A US Open full of upsets and hungry, young contenders offered the latest sign that men's tennis has entered a new era
Aryna Sabalenka claimed her third Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open twice.
Those deep runs have left her better equipped to handle the pressure at the business-end of the majors.
Images from the US Open women's singles semi-finals at Flushing Meadows on Thursday.
Images from the US Open women's singles quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Tuesday.
The girl, wearing a matching fuchsia Nike kit and sporting a temporary tiger tattoo on her left forearm, emphatically cheered Aryna Sabalenka on
Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, and Mahesh Bhupathi have left their mark by collectively winning 10 US Open titles.
Contenders lurk around every corner in New York, as a gruelling year has left the title vulnerable for those hoping to capture a maiden major title.
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