Australian Open: Badosa celebrates 'dream come true' after retirement concerns

Paula Badosa celebrated a "dream come true" after overcoming Coco Gauff to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

Former world number two Badosa defeated the third seed 7-5 6-4 at Melbourne Park to book her spot in the last four.

It caps a remarkable turnaround for the Spaniard, who spent much of the past two years grappling with a serious back injury.

And having nearly called it quits last year, Badosa is now able to look forward to a maiden major semi-final.

"Emotional. I'm a very emotional person," said Badosa in her on-court interview at Rod Laver Arena.

"Overcoming something like this, I came in, I wanted to play my best game and I think I did it.

"Coco was playing insane tennis at the beginning, but I'm super proud of the level I played [at].

"In the past, I was one of the best-ranked players in the world, but now I think I'm a better player, I'm more mature and I manage the emotions better. Not always, but sometimes.

"It's a dream come true. A year ago I was here, not knowing if I'd have to retire. Now I won, against one of the best in the world, and I'll be playing in a semi-final."

1 - Paula Badosa has also claimed her first WTA top 10 win at a Grand Slam event, previously holding a 0-3 record – losing to Kiki Bertens, Petra Kvitova and her potential next opponent, Aryna Sabalenka. Level.#AO2025 | @AustralianOpen @WTA @WTA_insider

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 21, 2025

In her post-match press conference, 27-year-old Badosa explained how close she came to retirement.

"I was pretty close because I wasn't seeing myself at the level," she said. "My back wasn't responding well. I didn't find solutions. But I wanted to keep it a last try, a last chance to finish the year and let's see how it would go.

"Well, here I am. So, I'm really proud of what we went through with all my team and especially how I fought through all that, especially mentally."

Badosa is the fourth woman aged 27 or over in the past decade to reach a maiden semi-final at the Australian Open, after Angelique Kerber (2016), Mirjana Lucic (2017) and Magda Linette (2023).

However, she is not considering her semi-final as a free hit.

She said: "I'm never going to feel freedom until I win the tournament. I'm always like this. It's my personality.

"It's my character. Today, of course, maybe I had a little bit less expectations, but I still had pressure because I wanted to win so badly.

"I will step on the court in the semifinals, I don't care against who, and I will want to win so badly. That's part of me.

"I think when I'm in the final round, my level raises, and I just want to give my 100% there and leave it all on the court."

Badosa is just the fourth Spanish woman in the Open Era to reach a singles semi-final at a major, following in the footsteps of Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Conchita Martinez and Garbine Muguruza.