An emotional Paula Badosa achieved her first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open on Tuesday, sharing that she nearly left tennis last year due to a persistent back injury.
The Spanish 11th seed delivered a remarkable performance, defeating world number three Coco Gauff with a score of 7-5, 6-4 in the quarter-finals, and celebrated by collapsing to the court.
Badosa becomes the first Spanish woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Garbine Muguruza did so in Melbourne in 2020.
“I’m a bit emotional,” said the 27-year-old Badosa, who will face either two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the final.
“I’m a very emotional person. I wanted to play my best game. I think I did it. I’m super-proud of the level I gave today.”
This marks a significant return to professional tennis for the world’s twelfth-ranked player, who was ranked outside the top 100 just one year prior due to a prior back stress fracture.
“I mean, a year ago I was here with my back that I didn’t know if I had to retire from this sport,” said Badosa, who reached a career-high two in the world in 2022.
During last year’s clay-court season, Ms. Badosa experienced a period of significant physical distress due to an inflamed lower back that proved unresponsive to treatment.
“I thought about stopping when I was doing injections because they told me I had to do max three a year, and I was already on my second one in the fourth month of the year,” Badosa told reporters.
“It was pretty bad for me and also the back was still hurting. So in that moment I really didn’t know what to do.
“After my home tournament in Madrid it was very tough for me. A mix of back, mentally, and everything.”
The situation began to improve, and after advancing to the fourth round at Wimbledon, Badosa started to regain her form.
She secured a victory in Washington, reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati, progressed to the quarter-finals at the US Open, and concluded with consecutive semi-final appearances at the China Open and Ningbo Open, which propelled her back up the rankings.
Following her performance in Melbourne, she is set to return to the top 10.
“I’m in a semi-final, I would never think that a year after I would be here,” she said.
Badosa started strong against the in-form third seed Gauff, putting pressure on the American's serve right from the beginning of the first set. She managed to break at 5-5 and went on to serve out the set, taking it in 56 minutes.
In the second set, Badosa intensified her performance, racing to a 5-2 lead with a double break. Although she lost one service game as Gauff fought back, Badosa ultimately clinched the match in 1 hour and 43 minutes.
This victory marked her first win against a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam after four attempts.