Aryna Sabalenka kept her promise to Paula Badosa and gifted her best friend a luxurious bracelet after being the one who prevented the Spaniard from making her first Grand Slam final.
At this past Australian Open, the Spanish tennis star enjoyed her best-ever run after upsetting Coco Gauff and reaching her maiden Major semifinal.
But then, the 27-year-old saw her promising run being ended by none other than one of her best friends, who handed her a 6-4 6-2 defeat.
During her on-court interview, Sabalenka expressed some sympathy for Badosa and jokingly told her not to be mad at her because she would take her shopping and buy her “whatever” she wanted.
“We both wanted it badly. It’s our dream. Here, we’re just opponents. No matter what happens on the court, we gonna be friends after our matches. It’s tough to do but we agreed on that,” the world No. 1 said after the match.
“I hope she’s still my friend. I’m sure she hates me for the next I don’t know, hour, day or two.
“I promise Paula we go shopping and pay for whatever she wants.”
Sabalenka reveals the gift she bought to Badosa
On her Instagram Story, the Belarusian tennis star posted a video of the world No. 10 unwrapping a present, with the caption: “She said she forgave me.”
Paula Badosa© Aryna Sabalenka/Instagram – Fair Use
Needless to say, the Spaniard was very happy with the gift she received.
Deuda saldada 🤝
Aryna Sabalenka🇧🇾 cumplió con su promesa de ir de shopping junto a Paula Badosa🇪🇸
💙La No.1 del mundo le dio un lindo regalo a Badosa, quien quedó encantada https://t.co/HzzXpfmGvx pic.twitter.com/0M05zqHBRS
— Iván Aguilar (@ivabianconero) February 8, 2025
Meanwhile, both Sabalenka and Badosa are currently in Doha, where they are preparing for next week’s WTA 1000 tournament.
Since the Belarusian is the top-seeded, she has a first-round bye and awaits the winner of the match between Emma Raducanu and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
On the other side, the Spanish tennis star is due to meet Katerina Siniakova in the Doha first round.
Tennis World USA