Paula Badosa stuns Coco Gauff to reach semifinals

Just a few months ago, 26-year-old Paula Badosa was on the verge of retirement. Plagued by severe back pain, the Spanish player's form had plummeted after reaching a career-high world No. 2 ranking in 2022.

To be able to compete, she had to undergo corticosteroid injections, but her back did not respond well to the treatment. Last year, she even came close to giving up altogether. She confessed, "I was thinking that maybe I'm not made to come back... I had a lot of doubts about myself."

However, Badosa did not give up. She adjusted her team, found exercises suitable for her back, and things began to improve. She set her sights on winning the Comeback Player of the Year award in 2024, and she successfully achieved that goal. Now, the Spanish player has pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far at the Australian Open, defeating world No. 3 Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4 in straight sets in the quarterfinals and reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal.

Badosa has also openly discussed her mental health struggles with depression and anxiety, stating that going through those difficulties made her more resilient. “I think it changed me,” she said. “When I win matches like this, I enjoy it a lot. And at the same time, I get emotional because it means a lot to me… I'm very hungry for victory.”

In the match, both sides were evenly matched in the first set, with the score remaining close. After being tied at 5-5, Badosa successfully broke Gauff's serve and held her own to take the first set. In the second set, Badosa broke Gauff's serve first after eight deuces in the opening game. Gauff then leveled the score, but Badosa broke again to take a 5-2 lead into her service game for the match. Gauff fought back, breaking serve and holding to close the gap to 5-4, but Badosa did not give her opponent another chance in her second attempt to serve out the match. Gauff seemed to have trouble with her forehand, a long-standing issue for the 20-year-old American, and Badosa took full advantage of it.

"Of course, I'm disappointed, but I'm not completely broken," Gauff said. The teenage prodigy has been steadily rising to become a force in tennis. She won the 2023 US Open and last year's WTA Finals, entering the Australian Open in good form and considered one of the favorites to win. Nevertheless, Gauff remained calm after the loss. “I think my performance, even if it wasn't my best, I gave it my all on the court, and that's something to be proud of. I fought to the last point,” she said. “Some matches will go my way, and some won’t.” “Maybe a few years ago, I would have been more broken and felt like it was the ‘end of the world,’ but now I’m just disappointed that there are things I could have done better.”

Badosa will next face world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka or Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals. “I’m going to step onto the court in the semifinals, and I don’t care who I’m playing, I just want to give it my all and win. That’s part of me,” Badosa said. She feels like she is getting back to where she should be. This time last year, she was ranked outside the top 100. Now, she has risen to No. 12, and depending on the results, she could return to the top ten. “I used to be one of the best players in the world. But I feel like the me now is better, more mature, and I think I can control my emotions better – though not always,” she said. “Even if the level is high and it’s tough, and of course I get nervous, I try to look up at the crowd and appreciate it, enjoy the moment, because that’s what we train for.” “I think it’s a beautiful moment.”