Coco Gauff recovered from a set and a break down to reach the China Open final with a 4-6 6-4 6-2 victory over Paula Badosa on Saturday.

Having given up an early break in the opener, Gauff got one of her own by converting her eighth break point in a mammoth eighth game featuring 10 deuces, only for Badosa to hit back immediately to go a set up.

Gauff lost serve immediately in the second set to go on the back foot, only to level the match with back-to-back breaks, the second of them to love.

The decider began with a series of breaks, Gauff taking two of them as the momentum swung her way, then she protected her lead all the way to reach her first final since winning January's Auckland Open.

The 20-year-old is the youngest player to reach the women's singles final at the China Open since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.

She has fought from a set down to win in each of her last three matches, the first time she has done so in her career. She is the first player to do so in WTA-1000 events since Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells 2022.

Data Debrief: Gauff brings up century

Saturday's match was Gauff's 100th at WTA 1000-level events, and her 67th such victory.

Among American players, only Serena Williams (87), Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula (70) have bettered her 67 wins through their first 100 matches at such events.

Emma Navarro is ready for the challenge of either Aryna Sabalenka or Zheng Qinwen as she bids for US Open glory at Flushing Meadows. 

Navarro, who had never made it past the first round in her previous appearances at New York, put on an impressive display to win in straight sets against Paula Badosa.

The American found herself 5-1 down in the second set, only to win the next six games in a row to reach her maiden grand slam semi-final. 

She also became the second American player since 2000 to make their first grand slam women's singles semi-final at the US Open, after Jennifer Brady did so in 2020. 

But waiting in the next round is last year's runner-up, Sabalenka, or the recently crowned Olympic champion Zheng, a challenge Navarro is not shying away from.

"I've played both of them a couple of times,” said Navarro. “They are great players, I think we will have a great battle. But I'll be up for the challenge of either of them.

"Both big servers, big hitters and I think they will come aggressively at me whichever one it is - but yeah I'll be ready."

Navarro had only won one match at the main stage of a grand slam before this year, but has got better and better throughout her breakout year of 2024.

She reached the third round of the Australian Open, the last 16 at the French Open, the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and now the semi-finals of her home slam.

"After I got it back to 5-2, I had a bit of an inkling that it might be two sets," added Navarro.

"I just wanted to stay really tough and stick in there and even if I did lose the second set, I wanted to set the tone for the third set.

"Just really happy with my performance today. Crazy to be moving on to the semi-finals. US Open baby."

Emma Navarro is ready for the challenge of either Aryna Sabalenka or Zheng Qinwen as she bids for US Open glory at Flushing Meadows. 

Navarro, who had never made it past the first round in her previous appearances at New York, put on an impressive display to win in straight sets against Paula Badosa.

The American found herself 5-1 down in the second set, only to win the next six games in a row to reach her maiden grand slam semi-final. 

She also became the second American player since 2000 to make their first grand slam women's singles semi-final at the US Open, after Jennifer Brady did so in 2020. 

But waiting in the next round is last year's runner-up, Sabalenka, or the recently crowned Olympic champion Zheng, a challenge Navarro is not shying away from.

"I've played both of them a couple of times,” said Navarro. “They are great players, I think we will have a great battle. But I'll be up for the challenge of either of them.

"Both big servers, big hitters and I think they will come aggressively at me whichever one it is - but yeah I'll be ready."

Navarro had only won one match at the main stage of a grand slam before this year, but has got better and better throughout her breakout year of 2024.

She reached the third round of the Australian Open, the last 16 at the French Open, the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and now the semi-finals of her home slam.

"After I got it back to 5-2, I had a bit of an inkling that it might be two sets," added Navarro.

"I just wanted to stay really tough and stick in there and even if I did lose the second set, I wanted to set the tone for the third set.

"Just really happy with my performance today. Crazy to be moving on to the semi-finals. US Open baby."

Emma Navarro staged a stunning second-set comeback against Paula Badosa to reach her first career grand slam semi-final at the US Open on Tuesday.

The American looked to be heading to a decider but put together an incredible run to win 6-2 7-5 on Arthur Ashe Stadium in 74 minutes.

Navarro had never made it past the first round in her previous appearances at Flushing Meadows but has followed up her Wimbledon quarter-final run with another impressive showing.

Badosa, who has been on a recent resurgence with her title in Washington last month, struggled to gain a foothold, losing her serve twice in the first set and failing to get a break in the penultimate game.

She looked back to her usual self in the second though, racing into a commanding 5-1 lead, only to see it slip away from her.

Buoyed by her home crowd, Navarro won the next six games in a row to set up a meeting with either Qinwen Zheng or Aryna Sabalenka in the next round.

Data Debrief: Breaking new ground

It has already been quite the year for Navarro, winning her first WTA Tour title in Hobart in January before reaching her first grand slam quarter-final in Wimbledon.

But her performance in her home tournament has the potential to be the pick of the year. Into her first major semis, she is also now guaranteed a top-10 debut next week.

Navarro is the sixth player in the last 40 years to make the women's singles semi-finals at the US Open without a win at the event entering the tournament, after Steffi Graf (1985), Venus Williams (1997), Yanana Wickmayer (2009), Bianca Andreescu (2019) & Emma Raducanu (2021).

Jessica Pegula will face Aryna Sabalenka in the Cincinnati Open final after battling past Paula Badosa.

World number six Pegula was made to wait for victory after a lengthy rain delay, eventually triumphing 6-2 3-6 6-3 on Sunday.

Sabalenka, the world number three, awaits in the showpiece after clinching a straight-sets victory over Iga Swiatek.

The 30-year-old Pegula raced out the blocks, breaking twice to snatch a 4-0 lead, despite requiring three break points to deal the second blow to Badosa.

Pegula did not look back from there, wrapping up the opener in 38 minutes before the match was paused with the score level midway through the second set.

Badosa utilised that prolonged stoppage to bounce back, taking both break chances to send the semi-final to a decider.

Yet Pegula held her nerve, staving off four break points to hold out for a 2-1 third-set lead before Badosa faltered on her own serve to fall to defeat in just under two hours.

Data Debrief: Pegula matches career-high

Straight off the back of her Canadian Open triumph, Pegula is in red-hot form heading into the final against Sabalenka, aiming for back-to-back WTA 1000 event triumphs.

The six-time major quarter-finalist has now won her last nine matches across WTA Tour outings, matching her previous career-best streak. Pegula is the sixth player in the Open Era to reach the finals at the Canadian and Cincinnati Open in a calendar year after Rosie Casals, Evonne Goolagong, Na Li, Serena Williams and Simona Halep.

Badosa continues to wait for her maiden victory over Pegula, while the Spaniard is also without a top-10 win on the hard courts since beating Barbora Krejcikova two years ago in Sydney.

Paula Badosa is back to feeling like she is an athlete again after claiming victory at the Washington Open.

Badosa, the former world number two, is back in the WTA's top 50 following Sunday's 6-1 4-6 6-4 defeat of Marie Bouzkova.

It marks the Spaniard's fourth Tour-level title but her first since she triumphed in Sydney at the start of the 2022 season.

Last year was a difficult one for Badosa, who sustained a stress fracture in her back and subsequently dropped out of the top 100.

But now she is back to feeling like her old self.

"What I went through the last year, for me being back, winning big titles like a [WTA] 500, [beating] the best players in the world, being competing against them again, for me it means a lot," said Badosa, who downed Emma Raducanu en route to clinching the trophy.

"That's why I had this mix of emotions. I was really, really nervous because I really wanted it really badly.

"One year ago I was on the couch, so it's a big difference now. Now I'm an athlete again.

"Even before the tournament I was feeling good, I was feeling confident.

"I think I needed to win something, a big title for me. Because of my personality, I'm not happy always with finals and semi-finals. I want to win titles.

"I'm [a] perfectionist. Of course, that sometimes brings me down, but also in important moments I think it gives me [something] extra. I felt I needed this moment very much."

Paula Badosa lauded Emma Raducanu for pushing her all the way in a three-set encounter at the Washington Open.

Badosa, the world number 62, ended Raducanu's promising run in the American capital with a 4-6 7-5 6-4 triumph on Friday.

The Spaniard needed two hours and 45 minutes to overcome the 2021 US Open champion and reach her first semi-final of the season.

"She was playing amazing, honestly," Badosa said after meeting Raducanu for the first time.

"She took me to the limit in all the phases; physically, mentally, tennis-wise. I knew I had to play very aggressive.

"In the beginning, I was missing a little bit so I had to adjust. She was also making me miss. She's very, very fast. I never played her, so it's the first time I experienced her.

"I was surprised how smart she is on court and I like the way she plays."

Badosa will next face Caroline Dolehide, who beat Amanda Anisimova in straight sets.

Aryna Sabalenka recovered from a slow start to eventually advance to the French Open last 16 a commanding 7-5 6-1 victory over best friend Paula Badosa.

The second seed trailed 4-2 and was a break down in the opening set, but went on to win 11 of the next 13 games to seal a fourth-round clash with either Madison Keys or Emma Navarro. 

Sabalenka has dropped just seven games in her opening two matches at Roland-Garros.

Although, it looked like she may lose the opening set when a fortuitous net shot gave Badosa a second break and a 4-2 lead on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

However, she dug deep from 5-3 adrift, winning the last four games to draw first blood.

The reigning Australian Open champion broke her opponent a further two times on the way to a commanding 4-0 advantage in the second.

Badosa did well to save three match points from 0-40 in game six, but the Spaniard could not rescue a fourth as her opponent continued her surge into the second week.

Data Debrief: Sabalenka completes top four in last 16

Following on from her victories when they met in Miami and Stuttgart earlier this season, Sabalenka became the first player to beat Badosa three times at WTA events in a calendar year.

Joining Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, this marks the first time since 2013 that the top four seeds are through to the last 16 in the women's singles at Roland-Garros.

Aryna Sabalenka paid tribute to "great fighter" Paula Badosa and is relishing the opportunity to play her best friend on the WTA Tour in the French Open third round.

The pair have endured contrasting fortunes in their opening two matches at Roland-Garros this week.

Sabalenka has dropped just seven games on the way to straight-set victories over Erika Andreeva and Moyuka Uchijima, while Badosa has come from behind to beat Katie Boulter and Yulia Putintseva.

The reigning Australian Open champion - fresh from reaching successive clay-court finals in Madrid and Rome - cannot wait to face the Spaniard, but acknowledged their friendship will be put aside when they collide.

"She's my favourite," Sabalenka said. "I love her so much. I love to see her play, and she's really a great fighter, so it's always great matches.

"It's always tough to play your friend, really your best friend on tour, but we know how to manage that. We know how to separate court and life. So, it's always a great battle, a great fight against her. I always enjoy playing against her."

Sabalenka has won each of the last four meetings between the players, though the most recent in Stuttgart earlier this year ended prematurely with an emotional Badosa forced to retire injured. 

The former world number two has endured a seemingly endless battle with injuries in recent times, with a back problem forcing her to miss the second half of last season and seeing her drop out of the WTA's top 100.

"She has a big personality," Badosa said of her opponent. "She always brings this good energy, even on court. She's a very active, very intense player.

"I'm really looking forward to that match. I think the last time [in Stuttgart], it finished in a sad way. I learned a lot from that match. I think it was a very good one from both sides.

"Sharing the court with her - after all these results she's getting - is a pleasure for me, because this past year hasn't been easy. Playing this kind of match makes it all worth it."

Paula Badosa had to awkwardly inform a reporter she had lost her second-round match after a back injury ended her Wimbledon campaign.

The Spaniard was forced to retire when trailing 6-2 1-0 to Marta Kostyuk after her troublesome stress fracture flared up and she revealed she will not be able to play the mixed doubles with her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas.

To add insult to injury, news of her fitness struggles on Court 18 had clearly not reached an international reporter, who opened her post-match press conference by congratulating her on her victory, prompting a toe-curling exchange.

Responding to the opening comment, Badosa simply replied: “I lost.”

The reporter did not acknowledge her answer and asked her to talk about her fitness and confidence level, to which she replied: “For your information, I just lost. I didn’t win. So, yeah.”

The moderator then again informed the journalist Badosa had lost, which was received by surprise.

Once the result had been established in the room, Badosa went on to say that she will be withdrawing from the mixed doubles due to the problem, robbing fans of a on-court love story.

Asked whether she would be able to compete: “No, no, I won’t be able. The injury is the same as I have been struggling the past weeks.

“It’s the stress fracture. I tried my best to try to play here, but yesterday when I woke up I already, after my first-round match, felt it again. It’s a little bit worse.

“So I will need a few days off and talk to my team and see what I do in the next days and the next weeks.

“The first match I was pretty happy because I felt OK. After the match I spoke with my team, and I was, like, it wasn’t very bad.

“But yesterday, as I said when I woke up, I was worse. Today was worse. I wanted to give it a try in the match, but I think the smartest thing was to stop.”

Kostyuk will play 25th seed Maddison Keys after the American beat Viktorija Golubic 7-5 6-3 while two-time champion Petra Kvitova beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 6-2 to reach the third round.

Sixth seed Coco Gauff slumped to a third-round exit at the hands Paula Badosa at the Madrid Open on Saturday, while Mirra Andreeva celebrated her 16th birthday by setting up a meeting with Aryna Sabalenka.

Badosa – the highest-ranked Spanish player in the women's draw – needed just 71 minutes to wrap up a 6-3 6-0 win over last year's Roland Garros runner-up, thrilling a supportive home crowd at the Manolo Santana Stadium.

Badosa edged a competitive start on the clay, with each of the first five games featuring break points, before the 25-year-old forced a series of errors from Gauff to take the opener.

The second set was far more straightforward, the error-prone Gauff rounding out the match by losing eight consecutive games to miss out on a spot in the last 16.

Gauff was not the only seed to be humbled on Saturday, with Caroline Garcia falling to a 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 loss in her meeting with Egypt's Mayar Sherif.

Sabalenka – the highest-ranked player in action on Saturday – enjoyed a more productive outing, however. 

She saw off a spirited challenge from Colombia's Camila Osorio to clinch a 6-4 7-5 victory, teeing up a last-16 meeting with surprise package Andreeva. 

Playing on her 16th birthday, wildcard Andreeva celebrated in style with a 6-3 6-3 win over Poland's Magda Linette, continuing a dream run which has also seen the Russian eliminate Leylah Fernandez and Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Aryna Sabalenka is through to the round of 32 at the Madrid Open after beating Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-3 on Thursday.

It was an ominous start for Cirstea, being broken to love in the opening game, but she stuck with second seed Sabalenka and broke back, before ultimately being pipped to the first set by the impressive Belarusian.

The key was on break points, with Sabalenka claiming all five that she won against the Cirstea serve, while saving six of eight on her own as she ultimately eased to victory.

Sabalenka now has 26 wins on clay in the WTA since 2021, with only Ons Jabeur (37), Iga Swiatek (34), Paula Badosa (31) and Coco Gauff (28) having more during this time.

Gauff also advanced after a routine 6-4 6-1 win over Irene Burillo Escorihuela, making the sixth seed in Madrid the first player to win 35 WTA-1000 main draw matches as a teenager since 2009.

Ninth seed Maria Sakkari defeated Arantxa Rus 6-4 6-4 and fifth seed Caroline Garcia also had few problems against Yulia Putintseva, winning 6-3 6-4.

However, it was not a good day for 10th seed Petra Kvitova, who was beaten 7-6 (11-9) 6-1 by Jule Niemeier, while 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia also lost, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 to Mirra Andreeva and 20th seed Donna Vekic was eliminated in straight-sets by Rebeka Masarova.

Jelena Ostapenko took just 61 minutes to get past Linda Fruhvirtova 6-0 6-3, and will face 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova next, who did not take much longer to see off Maryna Zanevska 6-2 6-3.

There were also wins for Elise Mertens, Badosa, Camila Osorio, Shelby Rogers, Mayar Sherif, Magda Linette and Irina-Camelia Begu.

It was a day for comebacks at the Stuttgart Open, with number one seed Iga Swiatek recovering from a set down to beat Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals.

Swiatek made a disastrous start, going 4-0 down, and though she broke back once, was unable to find the second as Pliskova took the opening frame 6-4.

The determined Pole stepped up a level though to take the second 6-1, before breaking early in the third.

It was still an improvement for the Czech player, who lost 6-0 6-0 to Swiatek in their only previous meeting in Rome in 2021.

Pliskova kept her opponent honest on her own serve, but Swiatek had too much for the world number 17 as she clinched the decider 6-2.

Aryna Sabalenka also showcased her powers of recovery as she beat Paula Badosa despite going a set down.

The second seed won 4-6 6-4 6-4 in an even contest that saw nine breaks of serve, before the Belarusian eventually got over the line.

Sabalenka is now the player with the joint-most comeback wins over the last two seasons (13) level with Caroline Garcia, though the French star was actually the victim of a comeback herself on Friday.

Garcia won the first set against Anastasia Potapova, before the Russian came back to take it 4-6 6-3 6-3 to set up a semi against Sabalenka.

There was no need for such drama from Ons Jabeur, who eased to a 6-3 6-0 victory against Beatriz Haddad Maia in just 68 minutes to confirm a clash with Swiatek.

Iga Swiatek is through to the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open after easing to a 6-1 6-4 win over Zheng Qinwen on her return from a rib injury.

Swiatek had not played since sustaining the issue in the semi-finals of Indian Wells over a month ago, but advanced on Thursday despite stating that she felt "rusty".

The world number one won 84 per cent of points after landing her first serve in as she made up for lost time.

Swiatek also forced eight break points, winning four of them as she took just and hour and 26 minutes to set up a quarter-final with Karolina Pliskova, who bested Donna Vekic in a thriller.

Pliskova looked to be on her way to a routine win as she claimed the first set 6-2, only for the Croatian to take the second via a tie-break.

The decider also went the distance, with Pliskova able to finally put Vekic away 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) to book her clash with Swiatek.

Coco Gauff perhaps paid the price for taking almost three hours to beat Veronika Kudermetova on Wednesday, as the fifth seed fell to a straight-sets loss to Anastasia Potapova on Thursday, going down 6-2 6-3.

Fourth seed Caroline Garcia will go up against Potapova next after she defeated Tatjana Maria 7-6 (7-5) 6-4, while Paula Badosa had few problems seeing off fellow Spaniard Cristina Bucsa 6-1 6-2 and will face second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight.

Paula Badosa believes she can break back into the world's top three after cruising past Daria Kasatkina at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where Emma Raducanu crashed out on Tuesday.

Seventh seed Kasatkina had no answers in Stuttgart as she fell to a 6-1 6-1 defeat against Badosa, who recorded the ninth top-10 victory of her career and first in exactly 12 months.

Badosa has won 29 clay-court matches in the last three seasons – only Ons Jabeur (35) and Iga Swiatek (30) have won more – but the Spaniard had to enter this tournament as a wildcard.

The 25-year-old was as high as second in the world last year but has fallen to 31st, and she outlined her goal to reach the top once more after her first-round win set up an all-Spanish meeting with Cristina Bucsa.

When asked about her ambitions to return to the world's top three, Badosa said: "That's what I'm working on every day. That's one of my goals – I want to be back on the top.

"I like to play big matches, I like to be in the last rounds of the tournaments. I still know I have that level. I still know I was that player. I still believe in myself, and I hope I'm back there very soon."

Jelena Ostapenko eased into the second round with similar dominance after downing Raducanu 6-2 6-1 in just 58 minutes, teeing up a meeting with world number four Ons Jabeur on Wednesday.

Latvian Ostapenko powered 19 forehand winners and went unbroken, acknowledging in her on-court interview that familiar aggression was key to her success in the battle of two one-time grand slam winners.

"I knew against her the main thing was to step in the court," said former French Open winner Ostapenko. "I missed some balls, but I tried to be aggressive all the time when it was possible.

"Just try to take the ball early, don't give her many chances. And finally, I'm back on clay, my favourite surface."

Barbora Krejcikova was another straight-sets winner, scoring a 6-2 6-0 triumph over Liudmila Samsonova, with the reward for the 2021 Roland Garros champion being a tricky clash against second seed and Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka.

There was no such ease for Anastasia Potapova in a battling 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-4) victory over Petra Martic, the Russian's ninth third-set win in 2023 – no WTA Tour player has managed more.

Tatjana Maria overcame Ylena In-Albon 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-4) in another enticing clash, while Beatriz Haddad Maia advanced after Martina Trevisan was forced to retire when trailing 7-5 1-1 due to a right thigh injury.