Versatility is essential and it has come to the fore for Sabalenka in recent tournaments, where she has used not just her brutal strength to put opponents on the back foot but also applied a touch of finesse to leave them wrong-footed.
Photos pf tennis action across the USA on Sunday.
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.
After the women's doubles finalists weren't given the chance to speak at the trophy ceremony at the Madrid Open, the organisers apologised.
Coco Gauff has released videos protesting against killings of African-Americans in the US amid widespread outrage following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man in police custody in Minneapolis.
IMAGES from Day 10 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Jannik Sinner begins his Australian Open title defence against Nicolas Jarry while women's champion Aryna Sabalenka takes on 2017 U.S. Open winner Sloane Stephens
Iga Swiatek has been not been at her world-beating best in the months leading up to the U.S. Open but the Pole has both the talent and mentality to lift her game for the final Grand Slam of the year, tennis great Chris Evert said.
Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, are a handful of contenders ready to swoop in
A round-up of all the tennis action from around the globe.
Swiatek downs Gauff to meet Sabalenka in Italian Open final
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.
Naomi Osaka faces Zheng before possible meeting with Coco Gauff
Australian tennis great Rod Laver said that watching Nadal compete had been a privilege.
Lois Boisson is daring to dream of an improbable triumph after she stormed into the French Open semi-finals
Fritz, Shelton lead American charge at US Open with first-round wins
Here is what you need to know about the year's Australian Open:
Sabalenka, Keys reach Wimbledon third round with contrasting victories.
'Beautiful draw': Retiring Gasquet meets Sinner in French Open swansong
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
Images from Day 6 of Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, on Saturday.
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
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.
At an oven-like Centre Court where the temperature climbed to 30 degrees Celsius, Sabalenka twice rushed to the aid of ill fans by supplying bottles of cold water and an ice pack, before she cracked under pressure from her opponent in the 10th game.
The American great came into what is expected to be her final tournament as a 50-1 long-shot to win the title but after upsetting world number two Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday she is now 14-1
IMAGES from Day 5 of the Wimbledon Championships, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 7 of the Wimbledon Championships, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Sunday.
Swiatek, the 2022 champion, made her intentions clear early on with an aggressive start to claim a break for a 2-1 lead. She pulled further away when Kostyuk hit a double fault two games later, wrapping up the opening set in 31 minutes.
Hurkacz, Swiatek win as Poland march into United Cup final
Gauff survives scare, Osaka advances
Poland's Iga Swiatek could become only the third woman since tennis turned professional in 1968 to win all of her first six major finals, joining Margaret Court and Monica Seles, but Swiatek is not taking the big-hitting Anisimova lightly.
Fonseca cruised through the first set before Fearnley found his groove in the second to level the match on a windy day in the California desert.
American teenage sensation Coco Gauff became the youngest player to win a WTA title in 15 years as she beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the Linz Open final on Sunday.
The former world number one plans to play more of a full schedule next year and will work to improve on her serve, which she said let her down particularly in the first and third sets.
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.
Images from Day 8 of the 2024 French Open at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Sinner won in Cincinnati this week to claim his fifth title of a breakout season before the revelation that he avoided a ban over two positive tests
Naomi Osaka's return a boost for women's tour, says Mouratoglou
Sabalenka will overtake Poland's Iga Swiatek when the new rankings are updated on Monday
