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Paula Badosa, Comeback Player of the Year, reaches her first Grand Slam semi-final

The Spaniard defeated American Coco Gauff, who seemed the favourite for the title this year.

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Paula Badosa, Spanish player who fell from World nº2 in 2022 to nº140 due to back injuries, before coming back to nº12, has reached Australian Open semi-finals, reaching a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time in her career. Badosa, winner of the WTA Comeback Player of the Year, defeated World nº3 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals, 7-5, 6-4.

Badosa (who had previously lost three times to American player Coco Gauff, and now the count is tied) also won her first victory over a top 10 plater at a Grand Slam tournament, a tremendous win considering a year ago she was considering retiring from the sport due to back injuries. "I won today, I'm in the semi-finals, and I never would think that a year later, I would be here."

Coco Gauff, who had 12 victories in a row, said she is "not crushed, but obviously it does feel bad when you feel like you're playing great tennis for the better start of this year to lose". Next for Badosa will be the semi-final on Thursday, either against defending title holder Aryna Sabalenka or (less likely) Russian player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, world Nº 32.

Paula Badosa, Comeback Player of the Year, reaches her first Grand Slam semi-final

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SportsAustralian OpenPaula Badosa


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