Badosa will face her friend Sabalenka in the Australian Open semi-finals

As the enamored crowd at Rod Laver Arena looked on, Paula Badosa dropped to her knees.

She stayed on the ground for a moment as she leaned over with her arms outstretched. She had just beaten Coco Gauff, no. 3 seed and clear match favourite, in a decisive 7-5, 6-4 victory and had progressed to the first major semi-final of his career.

The moment mattered all.

Although it had seemed like an inevitability for Badosa at one point earlier in her career, this breakthrough came after a debilitating back injury put her future in the sport in doubt. When Badosa played at this tournament 12 months ago, she was unsure how much longer she would be able to continue playing as she was simply unable to get the pain under control.

“(But) now I’m here playing against the best in the world,” Badosa said. “I won today, (now) I’m in the semifinals. I never thought a year (later) would be here.”

And on Thursday, Badosa, the former world no. 2, have a chance to reach her first Slam final in a semi-final showdown against two-time defending champion – and one of her closest friends – Aryna Sabalenka. It’s a daunting task, but one that Badosa is ready for.

“I’ve been through a lot,” Badosa said Tuesday. “I used to be one of the best players in the world, but now I think I’m a better player, more mature. I think I control my emotions a little better… For me, this is a dream come true. “

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Few who watched Badosa’s rise through the junior ranks would be surprised by her current run in Melbourne. Born in New York but raised in Spain, Badosa won the French Open girls title in 2015 and her talent was on full display from a young age.

After a stint primarily on the ITF Tour when she turned professional, Badosa, now 27, made her big debut at the 2019 Australian Open and broke the top 100 for the first time later that season. By 2021, she had reached her first major quarter-final at the French Open and won what remains the biggest title of her career at 1000-level Indian Wells. Her ranking skyrocketed – and reached no. 2 in April 2022 – and with that she became one of the most recognizable players on tour.

But things took a dramatic turn in 2023 when she suffered a stress fracture in her back. She played sparingly during the season and ultimately, having to withdraw during her second round match at Wimbledon, her only Slam appearance of the year, she was forced to close her season.

“Those of you who know me know how much I love to compete and how difficult it has been to make this decision,” she wrote on Instagram after withdrawing from the US Open in August of that year. “We’ve tried everything with my team, but the pain won’t let me go forward.”

Badosa returned in time for the start of the 2024 season but admitted it was a “process to get back” when speaking to reporters at the Australian Open. She reached the third round. But the pain hadn’t gone away. IN an interview on the WTA Insider PodcastBadosa said her doctors told her it would be “very complicated to continue (her) career” during a consultation in March after she pulled out of Indian Wells. But they started cortisone shots in a last-ditch effort — something her medical team called her “only option” — and the shots allowed her to continue playing.

But even with the pain somewhat controlled, the results she had grown accustomed to simply weren’t coming. She also knew she could only have three cortisone injections during the year – she had her second in April – and after a challenging clay court season, it made her doubt her future in the sport.

“There was a point last year where I was pretty close to retiring because I didn’t see myself at the level,” Badosa told reporters after defeating Gauff on Tuesday. “The back didn’t respond well and I didn’t find any solutions. But I wanted to give it one last try, one last chance to finish the year and let’s see how it would go.

“And well, here I am. So I’m really proud of what we went through with my whole team and especially how I fought through all of that, especially mentally.”

Badosa made some changes after a first-round loss in April in Madrid that saw her ranking fall out of the top 100. Believing everything she did related to her back, she brought in a new fitness trainer and a new nutritionist. They gave her exercises to strengthen her back, as well as different supplements to take and foods to eat that could relieve inflammation. She began consulting with new doctors. She saw improvements and “the puzzle started to look better.” She had her last cortisone shot in the spring and hasn’t needed one since.

At first, she had to fight a persistent fear that she would wake up one morning and the pain would be back. But she persevered. Badosa reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in July and then won the title – her first in more than two and a half years – at the Washington Open in July. There was a semifinal appearance in Cincinnati and then a quarterfinal at the US Open, marking her best-ever finish at the major.

Badosa finished the season as no. 12, and she was named the WTA’s 2024 Comeback Player of the Year in December. It was something she had wanted all year and it gave her confidence heading into the new season.

“Do I feel like I’m back where I belong? Yes, of course,” Badosa said Tuesday. “I mean since I came back last year here in Australia, my goal, I set it here last January, I wanted to be the Comeback Player of the Year. I achieved that. And when I started this year, I also said that I will to be one of the best players in the world and prove it, show it and be consistent, so that’s my goal for this year.”

Badosa did not know whether she would face Sabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova when she spoke to reporters after her win over Gauff. But she still answered many questions about Sabalenka, the current world no. 1. The two, who often write about their friendship on social media, have been among each other’s biggest supporters in recent years.

When Sabalenka’s former partner Konstantin Koltsov died of an apparent suicide days before the start of the Miami Open in March, it was Badosa who became Sabalenka’s unofficial spokesperson and spoke to the media when Sabalenka declined. Even as the two prepared to play each other in a 64 encounter, Badosa gave insight into how Sabalenka was feeling. Sabalenka won the match and Badosa was full of praise for his friend afterwards. “She’s a very, very strong woman, a strong personality,” Badosa said.

When Badosa was forced to retire in the third set of a close match against Sabalenka in Stuttgart in April, she cried as they hugged and Sabalenka tried to comfort her.

“I love Paula very much,” Sabalenka said in her post-match press conference. “We’ve been friends for three or four years. She’s an incredible person. It’s very important to have friends on the court, so when you find someone who you feel is your soulmate, it’s the best thing that can happen to you .”

The friends – known to tennis fans collectively as “Sabadosa” – have played once since, with Sabalenka claiming a 7-5, 6-1 win in the third round at the French Open to hold a 5-2 series edge in their career head- two-head.

On Thursday, they will put their admiration for each other away for another day. Badosa was excited about the opportunity after his win on Tuesday, calling it a “normal” experience at this point. Badosa said they typically text each other before games, but would expect a “fight.”

However, Sabalenka could not hide her enthusiasm for Badosa.

“She’s a great player and she’s been through a lot and now she’s back to her best game,” Sabalenka said after her three-set victory over Pavlyuchenkova. “I’m really happy to see it. And yes, I watched her matches here. She plays really great tennis.”

No matter what happens in the semi-final showdown, Badosa will leave Melbourne having returned to the top 10 for the first time since 2022. With all her health challenges, she has repeatedly said she is now trying to appreciate everything more and “soak it all up in .” Against Gauff, she said she tried to enjoy everything about the fight, the crowd and the aftermath. After spending so much time away from the competition, she is grateful for it all.

But make no mistake: Badosa still wants to win and knows what she’s capable of.

“I’m never going to feel freedom until I win the tournament,” she said. “I’m always like that and that’s my personality, that’s my character. Today (against Gauff) of course I had maybe a little bit less expectations, but I still had pressure because I wanted to win so badly.

“I step on the court in the semi-finals, I don’t care who, and I want to win so bad. It’s (just) part of me.”