Melbourne, Jan 21: Coco Gauff’s forehand and serve abandoned her in the worst way and at the worst time at the Australian Open on Tuesday, 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.
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.