Drawing Paula Badosa in the second round of a Grand Slam is hardly an easy assignment for anyone, and for Coco Gauff, there was an added reason to be cautious. Despite arriving at the US Open in strong form, the American knew she had a tricky opponent on the other side of the net. Badosa came into the match with a 5-3 head-to-head advantage, giving Gauff plenty of reason to stay alert.

After grinding through a two-hour battle to get the win, Gauff was quick to acknowledge just how tough Badosa had made it, making sure to give the Spaniard her due credit.

“Paula’s a tough player. I feel like, you know, had the lead, but I don’t think there was a too much I did wrong. She really stepped it up and, um, yeah, I feel like I’m really happy to be through today,” stated Gauff in her post-match interview.

The American further confessed to being nervous and added, “She [Badosa] is definitely not someone you want to pull second round, number two in the world. Um, great competitor, but I think that I need matches like this to build my confidence and I’m happy with how I managed today cuz uh there was a little bit of nerves.”

Notably, Gauff’s chances of taking the opening set were tested right from her first service game, as Badosa earned break points with the chance to race out to an early 2-0 lead. But the home favorite held her nerve, saving both opportunities and keeping the set on serve until 3-3.

Gauff then made her move in the seventh game, finally finding the crucial break. She backed it up by holding her next two service games to close out the set and take the early advantage.

However, if anyone had watched Badosa’s previous matches against Gauff, they would know the Spaniard would not go down without fighting. She broke back to make it 4-4, and at 5-4, looked poised to break Gauff’s serve to win the second set. The American, however, thwarted her off to make it 5-5, and then broke in the next game to take a 6-5 lead.

Following this, Gauff faltered under pressure, as Badosa hit winners at will to break her back and take the second set into a tiebreak. At 4-4 in the tiebreak, the match was in the balance, which is when Badosa made a costly double fault and a backhand error to hand two match points to Gauff. While the former World No.2 was able to save one, she made an unforced error on her own serve, handing the victory to Gauff.

For Gauff, she knew she had skipped a significant challenge in the form of Badosa, who is not shy from playing her best tennis under the spotlight of a Slam, as she has beaten Gauff at a Major before.

Paula Badosa Had Beaten Coco Gauff at a Grand Slam Before

Gauff had played Badosa at the Australian Open last year, which had ended in a 7-5, 6-4 win for the Spaniard. The overall match was a dominant one for Badosa, who played an aggressive style of tennis, going for winners on both wings, whereas Gauff struggled with her forehand, making 28 unforced errors on that shot during that match last year.

For Badosa, the win against Gauff was emotional, as the Spaniard had been on a comeback trail since 2024, recovering from a chronic back condition that required her to take extreme measures, including playing while receiving cortisone injections.

“I’m a bit emotional. Overcoming something like this, the last slam, the quarter-finals were very tough”, said Badosa after winning against Gauff in Melbourne. “I wanted to play my best tennis. I did it. Coco, at the beginning, she was playing insane tennis. I’m super proud of the level I gave.”

Badosa has often had an emotional reaction after getting the better of Gauff, and their previous meeting in Berlin earlier this year was no different. The Spaniard was left in tears after pulling off another comeback against the American on the grass courts.

Despite dropping the opening set 6-1, the former World No. 2 turned the match around, fighting back to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. Given everything Badosa had been through with injuries, the victory carried even more weight. Beating one of the world’s top-ranked players after several setbacks made the moment an especially emotional one for the Spaniard.

“You can see I’m very emotional. A year ago, right here, I got injured. Since then, I haven’t been able to play regularly,” said Badosa in her on-court interview. “Today, I found myself again on the court.”

Three months after their Berlin battle, Gauff has now gotten the better of Badosa and will face another Spaniard in the next round. The American is set to take on Cristina Bucsa, who has booked her place in the third round after beating Sara Bejlek and Himeno Sakatsume.