Former world No. 2 Badosa came from behind at the WTA 500 tournament to defeat Gauff for the second meeting in a row.
You could see what victory meant to Paula Badosa, overcome with sheer emotion after defeating Coco Gauff at the 2026 Berlin Tennis Open.
In another injury-blightened season, the former world No. 2 came from behind at the WTA 500 tournament to defeat Gauff 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round on Wednesday (17 June).
Badosa, who is now ranked No. 142, was playing just her eighth singles match on tour since April, returning to the tournament where a back injury had hampered her season.
But the Spaniard has now sealed consecutive victories against the No. 5 seed, coming from behind for a monumental victory on the grass-court swing leading to Wimbledon.
“You can see I’m very emotional,” said Badosa in tears after the match. “It’s been very tough. One year ago I got injured here… now seeing myself playing at this level here means a lot.”
Badosa awaits eighth seed Linda Nosková or Diane Parry in the quarter-finals. But for Gauff, it is a third straight singles loss on the grass dating back to last year’s Berlin Open.
Berlin Tennis Open 2026 – Alex Eala beats recently crowned Queen’s champion Vekić
Elsewhere in Berlin Alexandra Eala continued her strong grass-court season with an opening-round triumph; the Filipina world No. 35 defeated Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekić 7-5, 6-4 for a seventh win on the surface this year.
Vekić, ranked two places higher and fresh off a grass title at Queen’s, fought through one hour, 50 minutes in the German capital, having played eight matches in the last 10 days.
Next up for wildcard Eala is a mouthwatering matchup with second seed Elena Rybakina, with the 2026 Australian Open champion looking to build form on the grass before Wimbledon begins on 29 June.
It was Vekić who struck first with an early break before suffering a double break at the hands of the Filipina, before working her way back in from 2-4 to win three straight games.
Eala was not keen to relinquish her control of the opening set as she broke for 6-5 and took the set in just over an hour. The 21-year-old showed excellent composure to save 86 per cent of break points over the course of the action at the Steffi Graf Stadium.
A break to open the second set was enough to give the wildcard a lasting advantage, and she even saved four break points in the final game to advance to the round of 16.
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