She was the last player to beat Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open but now she’s ranked outside the top 1000 in the world

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Aryna Sabalenka has just soared into yet another Australian Open final as she continues her remarkable record at the tournament.

Sabalenka has an on-court rivalry with Paula Badosa, who she has just beaten 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Australian Open final.

Coco Gauff wished Badosa luck after the American lost their quarter-final match, but the Spaniard failed to continue that momentum against Sabalenka.

WTA number one Sabalenka is now into a third successive Australian Open final, having won both finals in 2023 and 2024.

From her seven appearances at the Grand Slam so far, she boasts two wins, two fourth round exits, two first round exits and one third round exit.

Kaia Kanepi beats Aryna Sabalenk in 2022 Australian Open fourth round

Given her back-to-back success, it is, of course, her fourth round finish in 2022 that represents Sabalenka’s last Australian Open defeat.

And that came at the hands of Kaia Kanepi, who came from behind to beat the second seed 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(10-7) in a thrilling contest.

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The Estonian went on to lose to seventh seed Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals, with home favourite Ashleigh Barty eventually lifting the trophy after beating Danielle Collins in the final.

It wasn’t her only memorable victory of the tournament, with Kanepi knocking out 16th seed and three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in round one.

Aryna Sabalenka and Kaia Kanepi head in different directions after 2022 Australian Open meeting

It was a superb tournament from the Estonian, who boasts four WTA Tour-level titles and once reached a career-high ranking of 15.

Now 39, Kanepi currently has a ranking of 1,320, with that quarter-final run in 2022 her best Australian Open finish and indeed her joint-best Grand Slam finish, having also reached that stage of the three other major championships.

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz shocked by shot Aryna Sabalenka hit during her Australian Open quarter-final match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Sabalenka, in contrast, has gone from strength to strength since then, winning two titles in Melbourne and overtaking Swiatek as world number one.

Kanepi meanwhile didn’t feature in Grand Slams in 2024 as Sabalenka won twice, with the former suffering first round exits at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon before a second round exit at the US Open.