Paula Badosa (WTA 12) offered her first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open by surprising Coco Gauff (WTA 3) in two sets, undefeated since November and winner of the US Open in 2023. The Spaniard won 7-5 6-4.
Thanks to this first victory of her career against a top 10 Grand Slam player, Badosa reached the final four of a major tournament for the first time.
Ex-world No. 2 before falling in the rankings due to injuries, Badosa could meet Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final. In the quarters, the world No. 1 will face the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (WTA 32).
“I’m super proud of my level of play. For me, it’s a dream come true,” she said on the Rod Laver Arena court just after her victory.
-Like the Polish Iga Swiatek (2nd), Sabalenka qualified for the quarter-finals without losing a single set. On a streak of 18 consecutive victories in Melbourne, she will want to continue her road to a third consecutive title at the Australian Open.
The last to have achieved this hat-trick was the Swiss Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
But if the two players have not faced each other since the third round of Roland-Garros in 2021, Pavlyuchenkova leads 2-1 in her confrontations against the Belarusian.
