"I didn't know if I had to retire from this sport"- Paula Badosa gets emotional after crushing Coco Gauff to make first-ever Australian Open SF

Paula Badosa advanced in her first Grand Slam semifinal after defeating Coco Gauff in the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinals. The Spaniard suffered from a chronic back injury and contemplated retirement last year but has made an extraordinary comeback to achieve new heights this season.

On Tuesday, January 21, World No. 3 Coco Gauff faced World No. 12 Paula Badosa in the first singles quarterfinal of the Australian Open. Gauff entered the match as the favorite, having won their previous two encounters and riding an unbeaten streak this season.

However, Badosa, who had lost two previous Grand Slam quarterfinals, rose to the occasion and secured a straight-sets victory, 7-5, 6-4. During her post-match interview, Badosa reflected on her first Top 10 win at a Major.

"Today I came in, and I wanted to play my best game, and I think I did it," Paula Badosa said. "Coco, at the beginning, she was playing insane tennis, but I'm super proud of the level I gave today."

She also opened up about her injury ordeal which kept her out for months in 2023. The Spaniard had achieved a career-high of World No. 2 in 2022 but dropped to World No. 140 in May 2024. Badosa's resurgence began from there as she rose to World No. 12 by the end of 2024. The WTA Comeback Player of 2024 further said:

"A year ago, I was here with my back [injury] that I didn't know if I had to retire from this sport, and now I'm here, playing the best in the world. I won today, I'm in the semifinals, and I never would think that a year later, I would be here."

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"Third time's the charm" - Paula Badosa's message on the camera lens after defeating Coco Gauff at the Australian Open

Paula Badosa at the 2025 Australian Open - Source: Getty

An emotional Paula Badosa reflected on her multiple Grand Slam quarterfinal runs after she defeated Coco Gauff at the Australian Open. On the camera lens, she wrote:

"Third time's the charm" (translated from Spanish)

In 2021, Badosa reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, where she was defeated by Tamara Zidanšek. More recently, she made it to the US Open quarterfinals last year but fell to Emma Navarro in straight sets.

In her first Grand Slam semifinal, Badosa will face either her friend and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka or 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.