“Third time lucky”: Paula Badosa makes major breakthrough with Coco Gauff stunner at Australian Open

A la tercera va la vencida…

Paula Badosa wrote the Spanish phrase on the Australian Open camera lens to express her relief at winning her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in three attempts, securing her best-ever major result and a first Top 10 win at this level, shocking world No. 3 Coco Gauff, 7-5, 6-4.

“I’m a bit emotional,” she told Alicia Molik on court after the match. “For me, this is a dream come true.”

Read more: Paula Badosa turns pain into power with 2024 resurgence

A former world No. 2, Badosa had lost her previous two major quarterfinals in heartbreaking fashion, most recently last summer to Emma Navarro at the US Open in a nervy display. The Spaniard turned the tables on Gauff, who had won her first nine matches of the season, and held off a late surge to reach the semifinals in one hour and 43 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

“At the last Slam, the quarterfinals was very tough, so today I came in wanting to play my best game,” said Badosa, who awaits the winner of the second quarterfinal between world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 27 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. “I think I did it.”

I’ve been through a lot. I think I was, in the past, one of the best players in the world, but now I’m a better player. I’m more mature, and I think I manage the emotions a little better—not always, but sometimes! Paula Badosa

That may be an understatement from the New York-born Badosa, who broke serve four times in two sets, played heavy and aggressive tennis throughout and, most crucially, held her nerve when Gauff got within a game of leveling the second set.

“Coco, at the beginning, was playing insane tennis. But I’m super proud of the level I gave today.”

Little about this result appeared possible 12 months ago when Badosa, struggling with a back injury, was openly considering retirement as she began cortisone treatments.

“I would never think that a year after all that, I would be here,” said Badosa.

A month into the last-ditch treatment, she was suddenly pain-free and able to rise back up the rankings, winning a title in Washington, D.C. and a 1000-level semifinal in Cincinnati ahead of that last-eight finish in Flushing. She carried that momentum to Asia when she made another semifinal at the China Open—ending the season as the WTA’s 2024 Comeback Player of the Year.

“I’ve been through a lot. I think I was, in the past, one of the best players in the world, but now I’m a better player. I’m more mature, and I think I manage the emotions a little better—not always, but sometimes!”

Badosa has dropped just one set in Melbourne and could now face good friend Sabalenka for the chance to reach her first major final.

Sabalenka famously comforted Badosa on court at last spring’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, when the Spaniard was again forced to retire from a match due to injury.

“When I had to retire during our match there, I was crying so much and she was saying in my ear, ‘Don’t worry: you’ll be back to the Top 10 very soon,’” Badosa recalled back in Cincinnati.

Indeed, Badosa is tentatively projected to rise back to No. 9 in the rankings, which would mark her first time in the Top 10 since dropping out at the end of 2022.

As for Gauff, it was a disappointing end to what had been a revelatory stretch for the 2023 US Open champion, who ended last season with a run to the WTA Finals title. Looking to revamp her serve and forehand under new coach Matt Daly, Gauff found herself let down by both shots against Badosa, ending the match with 41 unforced errors.