swerte gaming Australian Open 2025: Paula Badosa Celebrates 'Dream Come True' After Retirement Concerns

Paula Badosa collapsed to the court after her win over Coco Gauff. Paula Badosa collapsed to the court after her win over Coco Gauff.

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

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.

Japan also began their campaign with a 5-5 draw against Korea but has since struggled to secure a win. They lost their second game 5-1 to India and followed that with a 2-1 defeat against Pakistan.

"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,mnl777 casino 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."

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