Paula Badosa makes top-10 rankings leap as she claims milestone win over error-prone Coco Gauff

Shahida Jacobs
Pictured: Paula Badosa and Coco Gauff
Paula Badosa with Coco Gauff inset

Paula Badosa will return to the top 10 of the WTA Rankings for the first time since 2022 after securing her maiden Grand Slam semi-final with victory over Coco Gauff at the Australian Open.

With her 7-5, 6-4 defeat of world No 3 Gauff, Badosa also achieved another first as she claimed her maiden win over a top-10 player at a major with her previous best results a couple of quarter-final appearances at Roland Garros and the US Open.

“The last Slams, the quarter-finals were very tough, so today I wanted to play my best game. I think I did it … I’m super proud of the level I gave today,” the Spaniard said after her win.

Badosa, who peaked at No 2 in the rankings in May 2022 before slumping outside the top 100 in 2024 following a serious back injury, has climbed three places in the Live Rankings to No 9 and she will move up higher if she progresses further at the season-opening Grand Slam.

The 27-year-old suffered a stress fracture in the spin in 2023 and was forced to spend several months on the sidelines before finding form during the second half of last year as she won the Washington Open and reached the last four of the US Open.

“Today I came in, and I wanted to play my best game, and I think I did it,” Badosa said. “Coco, at the beginning, she was playing insane tennis, but I’m super proud of the level I gave today.”

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She added: “A year ago, I was here with my back [injury] that I didn’t know if I had to retire from this sport, and now I’m here, playing the best in the world. I won today, I’m in the semi-finals, and I never would think that a year later, I would be here.”

After a bright start, Gauff started to falter as Badosa broke in game 11 of the opening set. The Spaniard then raced into a 5-2 lead in the second set and, although the American reduced the deficit, she won on her first match point in game 10.

For Gauff it was another error-strewn performance as she made 41 unforced errors with 28 coming off her forehand while she won only 56% (48/86) of her service points.

The defeat was Gauff’s first of the 2025 as she was 11-0 before the match following her 7-0 run at the United Cup. She will remain at No 3 in the rankings with Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek ahead of her.

Badosa will meet either defending champion and good friend Sabalenka or 21st seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the last four and victory could see her move to as high as No 6.