NEW YORK — Coco Gauff survived one of the most dangerous second-round matchups of the 2026 US Open, defeating former world No. 2 Paula Badosa, 6-4, 7-6(5), Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium to keep her bid for another Grand Slam title alive.
The fourth-seeded American needed nearly two hours to overcome the Spaniard in a tense battle that was considerably tougher than their rankings suggested. Gauff entered the match as the world No. 4, while Badosa was ranked No. 87 after a difficult stretch of injuries—but their history made the contest anything but routine.
Badosa had won the previous two meetings between the players and led their career head-to-head 5-3 entering the match, making the second-round clash a particularly tricky assignment for Gauff.
GAUFF TAKES CONTROL WHEN IT MATTERS
The opening set was decided by a single break.
With Badosa serving at 3-3, the Spaniard appeared poised to take control after creating an opportunity to hit a winner. Instead, a forehand error allowed Gauff to stay in the game, and the American eventually earned the first break of the match.
Gauff then protected her advantage and closed out the opening set, 6-4.
Badosa refused to fade.
Gauff opened the second set strongly and built a 3-1 advantage after stringing together 10 consecutive points early in the set. But Badosa fought back, breaking Gauff to level the score at 4-4.
The momentum continued to swing. After Gauff reached 5-5, the players exchanged breaks again, sending the set into a tiebreak.
Gauff struck first in the breaker and managed the pressure better down the stretch. Badosa’s backhand sailed long on Gauff’s second match point, allowing the American to close out the contest, 7-5 in the tiebreak.
A BIG CONFIDENCE BOOST FOR GAUFF
The victory was significant for Gauff beyond simply reaching the next round.
The 22-year-old entered New York as one of the leading contenders for the women’s title and is attempting to win her second US Open championship after her breakthrough triumph in 2023. She also arrives as a two-time Grand Slam champion following her 2025 French Open victory.
More importantly, Gauff showed she could handle a difficult opponent without allowing the match to spiral.
“I think I need matches like this to build my confidence,” Gauff said after the match, acknowledging that Badosa’s level made the contest particularly demanding.
The official US Open statistics showed Gauff finishing with 21 winners and 21 unforced errors. Her serve also remained an important part of her performance: although she landed only 50 percent of first serves, she won 71 percent of points behind that first delivery and 57 percent behind her second serve.
The victory also extended an impressive run for Gauff. According to the US Open, she has now won 16 consecutive sets, dating back to the opening set of her Cincinnati first-round match against Liudmila Samsonova, and she is 17-2 across her last 19 matches.
BADOSA SHOWS SIGNS OF A COMEBACK
Despite the loss, Badosa’s performance offered plenty of encouragement.
The 28-year-old was once ranked No. 2 in the world, but a series of injuries—including a stress fracture in her lower back and a torn labrum in her right hip—contributed to her fall outside the Top 100.
Her resurgence has gathered momentum this year. Following Wimbledon, Badosa went 11-2 in lower-level clay-court tournaments as she worked her way back into the US Open main draw.
Against Gauff, she showed flashes of the form that once made her one of the world’s elite players, repeatedly matching the American from the baseline and refusing to surrender after falling behind in both sets.
For Gauff, however, the challenge was ultimately another step forward.
ANOTHER SPANIARD AWAITS
Gauff’s reward for surviving Badosa is another matchup against a Spaniard.
She will face Cristina Bucsa, the world No. 40, in the third round.
Bucsa earned her place in the matchup after surviving Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume in a marathon three-set battle, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6. The match lasted three hours.
The upcoming encounter will not be entirely unfamiliar territory for Gauff. The American won their previous meeting in straight sets in the second round at Indian Wells in 2023.
But Gauff knows the deeper she goes in New York, the greater the pressure will become.
She has already survived a potentially dangerous early-round opponent in Badosa. Now, with another Spaniard waiting on the other side of the net, the question is whether Gauff can turn this hard-fought victory into another deep run at Flushing Meadows.
For now, the 2023 champion is still standing—and her US Open title chase is very much alive.
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