Reunited and it feels so good!
On Friday, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka teased that she was on a “date with someone special” in a cryptic post to her Instagram story. But it wasn’t a romantic night out with beau Georgios Frangulis, nor was it another double date for the couple with Sabalenka’s good buddy Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena.
Instead, it was a reunion with her “soulmate” Paula Badosa in Dubai.
“It’s been a while,” Sabalenka posted over a funny selfie of the two with the hashtag #Sabadosa — the portmanteau adopted by fans to describe them since their friendship first bloomed almost five years ago.
“My fav date @arynasabalenka 💖💖💖 finally!” Badosa later captioned her own Instagram story.
It was apparent in the series of posts that the two amigas have been longing for some quality time together — especially since Badosa ended her season prematurely due to injury. The former World No. 2 played just one tournament since Wimbledon with ongoing back problems — and dropped the curtain on her year after she retired in the second round of the China Open against Karolina Muchova due to a hip injury.
But when the Spaniard was healthy in 2025, the pair’s special bond was once again on show.
In January, Sabalenka defeated Badosa in the semifinals of the Australian Open, after which the Spaniard joked she was expecting “something expensive” as an apology gift. Sabalenka came good in the Middle East swing, gifting Badosa a piece of jewelry that she unboxed live on Instagram.
But the connection the two players goes deeper than glittery gifts — and the selfies posted, practice sessions played, and nights on the town enjoyed in cities around the globe.
“I love Paula very much … She is an incredible person,” Sabalenka said in Stuttgart last year. “It is very important to have friends on the circuit, so when you find someone who you feel is your soulmate, it is the best thing that can happen to you.”
“It’s just an amazing thing, you know, to find someone so similar to you and having the same kind of mindset, same thoughts on different topics and just be able to talk to someone and to have fun with someone,” Sabalenka said at last summer’s US Open. “Just to have a friend, that’s really awesome.”