Coco Gauff of the United States reacts in the Women’s Singles Quarterfinal match against Paula Badosa of Spain during day 10 of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 21, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Coco Gauff’s forehand and serve abandoned her in the worst way and at the worst time at the Australian Open on Tuesday (January 21, 2025), and the No. 3-seeded American was eliminated in the quarterfinals by No. 11 Paula Badosa of Spain 7-5, 6-4.
Gauff entered the match at Rod Laver Arena with a 9-0 record in 2025 and on a 13-match winning streak that dated to her title at the WTA Finals in November. Using tweaks to some key strokes to great effect in the hopes of earning a second Grand Slam title at age 20, the 2023 U.S. Open champion had only dropped one set through four matches at Melbourne Park this year.
“She’s full of confidence. But I’m playing well, too,” Badosa said ahead of the contest. “I’m ready to face her.” Was she ever. And Badosa now heads to her first Grand Slam semifinal at age 27.
“I’m a bit emotional,” said Badosa, who had been 0-2 in major quarterfinals. “I wanted to play my best tennis. I think I did. … I’m super proud of the level I gave today.”
She kept the pressure on Gauff, who only briefly managed to showcase her skills. Gauff finished with 41 unforced errors, a total that included six double-faults — including on the last point of the game that put Badosa ahead 5-2 in the second set — and 28 missed forehands.
Gauff had to contend with 10 break points and lost four of her 11 service games. She never earned so much as a single break point while returning until after she already trailed by a set and a break in the second.
One key game — and one that illustrated Gauff’s problems on this afternoon — was the second of the second set. It lasted 22 points spread over more than a dozen minutes, and Badosa converted her fifth break chance after Gauff missed two forehands in a row.
Of Badosa’s 12 points in that game, 11 came via mistakes by Gauff, including seven off the American’s forehand.
Paula Badosa of Spain plays a backhand against Coco Gauff of the United States
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That sort of thing kept happening throughout the 1-hour, 43-minute matchup, and Gauff often would respond to a miss off her racket by covering her face with her palm or slapping one of her legs. After one error, she dropped her racket to the blue court.
When the quarterfinal ended with a forehand winner, Badosa placed her hand over her mouth, then knelt on the ground. This was a big moment for someone who reached a career-best ranking of No. 2 in 2022, but then dealt with a serious back injury that made her contemplate ending her tennis career.
“I would never think that, a year after, I would be here,” Badosa said. “I’ve been through a lot. In the past, I was one of the best players in the world.” She next will go up against No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion in Melbourne, or No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the runner-up at the 2021 French Open. Their quarterfinal was to be played Tuesday night.
That was scheduled to be followed by the day’s most-anticipated matchup: Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s quarterfinals.
Djokovic, 37, is aiming for an 11th Australian Open trophy and a record 25th Grand Slam singles title overall. Alcaraz seeks to complete a career Grand Slam at age 21 by adding a championship in Australia to the ones he already owns: two from Wimbledon plus one apiece from the U.S. Open and French Open.
The day’s other men’s quarterfinal was No. 2 Alexander Zverev against No. 12 Tommy Paul.
Published – January 21, 2025 11:28 am IST
