Australian Open: Gauff stunned as Badosa advances to semi-finals

Paula Badosa is through to the semi-finals of the 2025 Australian Open after knocking out Coco Gauff in straight sets on Tuesday.

Gauff, the third seed, entered the clash at Rod Laver Arena as a warm favourite with tennis betting sites on the back of an impressive run through the first four rounds.

But Badosa, the 11th seed, put on a commanding display and took full advantage of her opponent’s faltering serve to run out with a 7-5, 6-4 victory.

It is the first time the Spaniard has reached the last four of a major tournament, and she admitted post-match that, after dealing with chronic back issues in recent years, she did not know if she would ever reach such heights.

“A year ago, I was here with my back that I didn’t know if I had to retire from this sport,” Badosa said.

“Now I’m here playing against the best in the world. I won today. I’m in semi-finals. So I would never think that a year after I would be.

“I’m a very emotional person. And overcoming something like this, the last Slam, the quarter-finals were very tough, so today, I came in, I wanted to play my best game.”

Badosa’s progression has shaken up Australian Open betting odds for the women’s singles title.

With Gauff out of the draw, top seed Aryna Sabalenka has firmed from $2.30 into $1.90 at Bet365 to defend her crown at Melbourne Park.

Polish star Iga Swiatek remains her closest challenger at $2.50, while Badosa now holds the third line of betting at $11 with top online bookmakers.

Up next for Badosa is a likely clash with Sabalenka, who is a red-hot favourite to defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarter-finals on Tuesday night.

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