Paula Badosa delivered a jaw-dropping performance in the first quarter-final of the Australian Open 2025 on Tuesday, January 21 at the Rod Laver Arena. Despite being the underdog to the world No.3 Coco Gauff, Badosa won the match with a stunning score of 7-5, 6-4. This win marked Badosa’s first-ever Grand semifinal appearance, making her the first Spanish woman to do so after Garbine Muguruzu in 2020. Badosa exhibited impressive forehand skills and held her first five serves in the opening set.
In the thrilling matchup, the duo engaged in a neck-to-neck battle. The anticipated audience expected the match to end with a tie-breaker. However, Badosa seized the opportunity by breaking Gauff’s serve with a forehand winner to clinch the first set 7-5.
With the opening of the second set, a determined Gauff retorted with her powerful backhand, breaking Badosa’s serve to level the score. However, Badosa quickly gained control and continued to assert dominance with a forehand winner and Gauff's double fault. Gauff displayed resilience by fighting till the end of the game, but Badosa continued her success in the second set with 6-4, securing the match in 1 hour 43 minutes.
Badosa’s victory over a top ten was a proud moment for all Spanish audiences. “Emotional. I'm a bit emotional, as you know, I'm a very emotional person and overcoming something like this. The last slam, the quarter-finals were very tough, so today I came in, I wanted to play my best game. I think I did it. Coco at the beginning, she was playing insane tennis, but I'm super proud of the level I gave today,” stated Badosa, the 11th seed, during her post-match interview.
The Spanish player opened up about her struggles with the injury. It has been 10 months since Badosa was told by her doctors that her career could be over. In the 2023 tennis season, not long after she had been ranked No. 2 in the world, Badosa suffered a severe stress fracture in her back, which caused intense pain and forced her to withdraw from every Grand Slam tournament that year. By March 2024, the 27-year-old was battling to save her career.
Badosa battled her way back to professional tennis after stooping down to no.140 in May last year. The cortisone injections were given to manage immediate pain and inflammation, which allowed her to return to the tour even if her future in it remained uncertain. After dedicating the past nine months to regaining her place among the elite, this match marked a remarkable comeback.
“A year ago, I was here with my back that I didn’t know if I was going to retire from this sport,” said Badosa. “Now I’m here, playing against the best in the world. I won today, I’m in the semi-finals. I would never think that a year after, I would be here.”
Following this outstanding victory, Paula Badosa is getting ready to face off with the winner of the second quarter-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, set to be played later in the day at the Rod Laver Arena.
