The grass-court preparations have been short for most of the women in the WTA Tour, but for the former world No. 2 Paula Badosa, every match has carried extra weight. Her gritty comeback victory over the American Coco Gauff yesterday secured a 2nd straight Berlin Tennis Open QF, yet the result meant far more than another deep run. With tears filling her eyes after the match, the Spaniard couldn’t hide what the moment truly meant, showing just how hard the journey has really been.

“Oh my God,” Badosa said after the match while camera’s caught tears filling her eyes on the Steffi Graf Stadion. “You can see I’m very emotional. It’s been very tough. One year ago, here I got injured. Since then, I couldn’t play, like, constantly. I went through a lot professionally but personally also,” she added.

The Spaniard had a nightmare start to the match. The 28-year-old lost the opening set 6-1 and even missed a break point early in the 2nd set before finding her rhythm.

However, from there, Badosa completely changed the momentum. The Spaniard fought back to claim a convincing 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the former world No. 2.

“Now seeing myself again playing at this level, for me, it means a lot. I know it’s just a couple matches, but for me it’s more the level that I played today against Coco because she started unbelievably well and I kept believing. I think finally I saw myself on court today,” Badosa said afterwards.

The victory for Badosa carried extra significance beyond reaching the QF at the event. It also marked her first win over a top 10 player since last year’s event at Berlin. Her previous top 10 win also came in the same tournament, where Badosa defeated American Emma Navarro, who was ranked No. 9 last year.

The win over Coco was also Badosa’s first victory since defeating Maria Sakkari in the 2nd round of Charleston Open on April 1. Between those two wins, she endured a painful 5-match losing streak.

Following her first-round defeat in the Madrid Open in late April, the Spaniard stepped away from the Tour. She chose to focus on her mental health and skipped both Rome Masters and the clay court Slam at Paris. She returned for the grass-court season in ‘s-Hertogenbosch but suffered another opening round defeat to Daria Snigur. 

Now into the Berlin QF once again, Badosa has finally found some momentum. Still, the Spaniard’s injury struggles continue to follow her, and she has remained open about the ongoing battle she is facing.

How injuries have derailed Paula Badosa’s career

Paula Badosa’s injury struggles have stretched over several years now and despite repeated setbacks, she has continued fighting to stay competitive on the WTA Tour.

Since 2023, the former world No. 2 has been managing a chronic back problem caused by a stress fracture. The issue has repeatedly interrupted her schedule on the tour and made it difficult for her to compete consistently.

Even last summer, her injury problems became even worse after she tore the labrum, an essential ring of cartilage, in her right hip. Before that, the Spaniard had already spent several months dealing with an injury to her right psoas muscle.

The physical setbacks also affected her ranking drastically. Early in 2026, she dropped significantly in the rankings after failing to defend the points from her 2025 AO semifinal run.

Her troubles continued at the Dubai Tennis Championships after the AO. An injury in the same area of her right leg forced her to retire during her match against the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.

After that heartbreaking moment, the current world No. 142 even shared an emotional message on IG. “You have no idea what it’s like to live with a chronic injury and still choose to keep going. To wake up everyday not knowing how your body will respond, searching for solutions, and fighting for something you love and give everything even when it’s so difficult.”

Away from her professional tennis career, Badosa’s personal life has also faced difficult moments. She recently went through a breakup with the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, adding another emotional challenge during an already demanding period.

Despite everything, Paula Badosa has now put herself in position for another big opportunity. She will next face either No. 8 seed Linda Noskova or the 23-year-old France ace Diane Parry for a SF place at the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Berlin Tennis Open.

Her fans will be hoping this run is only the beginning. A deep campaign in the Berlin Open could give Badosa the confidence she badly needs and help her head into SW19 believing she can compete with the very best again.