Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Paula Badosa in Australian Open Semifinals After Contemplating Retirement

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports | By Tope Oke | Last updated Jan 21, 2025 8:23 AM ET

An emotional Paula Badosa reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open on Tuesday, sharing that she nearly quit tennis last year due to a long-standing back injury.

The Spanish 11th seed shocked World #3 Coco Gauff 7-5 6-4 in the quarterfinals in Melbourne to become the first Spanish woman to make it to a Grand Slam semifinal since Garbine Muguruza did so in Melbourne in 2020.

This achievement marks an incredible return to tennis for the World #12, who had fallen well outside the Top 100 just a year ago because of a stress fracture in her back.

She recounted some difficult times during last year’s clay-court season when her inflamed lower back did not improve despite treatment.

“I mean, a year ago I was here with my back that I didn’t know if I had to retire from this sport.

“I thought about stopping when I was doing injections because they told me I had to do max three a year, and I was already on my second one in the fourth month of the year,” said Badosa.

However, the condition started to improve, and after reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, Badosa began to regain her form.

She clinched victory in Washington, reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, advanced to the quarterfinals at the US Open, and finished strong with back-to-back semifinals at the China Open and Ningbo Open, propelling herself back up the rankings.

She began aggressively against the in-form third seed Gauff, putting pressure on the American’s serve early in the first set and broke at 5-5 to close out the first set in 56 minutes.

Badosa then intensified her efforts in the second set, racing to a 5-2 lead with a double break. Although she lost one service game as Gauff pushed hard, she ultimately secured her victory in 1 hour and 43 minutes.

This was her first victory over a Top 10 opponent at a Grand Slam, and she will return to the Top 10 when the new rankings are released on Monday.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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