Aryna Sabalenka v Paula Badosa; Madison Keys v Iga Świątek results, scores, schedule, draw, how to watch
From the despair of hotel quarantine hell to the joy of a maiden grand slam semi-final charge, Paula Badosa hopes she is not done yet.
Badosa will enter tonight’s Australian Open last-four showdown with two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka armed with unshakeable belief fostered from years of overcoming adversity.
A debilitating back injury that sent the former world No.2’s ranking plummeting to outside the top 100 last year has been well documented.
Spain’s Paula Badosa.Credit: Getty Images
Somewhat forgotten is how Badosa was the first player to test positive to COVID-19 during her compulsory stint in quarantine before the 2022 Open and her complaints of having to live with mice in her room.
Those dark days are very much behind her, but they have also helped shape the Spaniard while instilling the New York-born 27-year-old with resilience.
“I’m a fighter,” Badosa said after taking out third seed Coco Gauff. “I’ve been through so many things in my life. I think it helped me to appreciate the moment more.”
Badosa and Sabalenka may be best friends, but the 11th-seeded underdog will shove sentiment to the side when she attempts to snap the Belarusian’s 19-match winning streak at Melbourne Park and make the final.
“I’m never going to feel freedom until I win the tournament,” said Badosa, a former junior prodigy and French Open girls’ champion. “I will step on the court in the semi-finals, I don’t care against who, and I will want to win so badly. That’s part of me.”
AAP
