WHAT HAPPENED: In form and on fire: No. 25 seed Paula Badosa—who lit up the courts during the North American hard-court swing this summer—defeated American (and reigning Wimbledon doubles champion) Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-5 inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. She now advances to the third round of the US Open for the very first time.
Badosa bested Townsend in straight sets in their one prior encounter, in the first round of the Australian Open earlier this year. Still, the American lefty is no stranger to big wins on a US Open show court—just ask Simona Halep whom she defeated inside Arthur Ashe Stadium just a month after the Romanian lifted the Venus Rosewater dish at Wimbledon in 2019.
But from the start, Badosa displayed the imperious form that consistently propelled her to the later stages of tournaments for the past few months. She hit her groundstrokes with authority, forcing Townsend to go for too much in the rallies. The Spaniard also proved lethal on her first serve, losing just four points on that shot when she did land it over the course of the opener. She broke her opponent in the third game and then again as Townsend served at 2-4.
Although she handed one break back as she served for it, she broke once again to claim the set in the very next game. Badosa no doubt benefited from the fact that the American—who is currently sitting close to her career-high ranking—was not playing at the peak of her powers. By set’s end, Townsend had already committed 19 unforced errors and won just 2 of her 13 second serve points.
The pair stayed even through the first five games of the second. Serving at 2-3, 40-15 up, Townsend lost three points in a row, giving Badosa a chance to break. The American hit a backhand winner to erase the opportunity, and then two points later sealed the game with an ace–and ignited the crowd.
Momentum suddenly seemed to travel over to Townsend’s side of the net and she broke Badosa’s serve right away to take the lead. Stepping to the line to take it to a decider, Townsend suddenly couldn’t find a first serve and she committed a flurry of unforced errors to hand the break back. Two games later, trying to force a tiebreak, she still continued to struggle on her serve and Badosa broke again to claim the match.
“I know she’s come from playing a lot of matches, a lot of confidence, so I knew it was going to be a battle,” Badosa said about Townsend after the match. “But I’m really happy I returned well; I served well. In important moments I went for it and I’m happy it went my way.”
WHAT IT MEANS: After falling outside the Top 100 in April due to a host of physical issues, former world No. 2 Badosa is firmly back in the Top 30. She captured her first WTA title in two years in Washington D.C. in July and then reached the semifinals in Cincinnati—where she pushed world No. 6 Jessica Pegula to three sets. Now she’s in the third round of the US Open for the first time.
MATCH POINT: Badosa has now won 15 of her last 18 matches.
“On the match point, I thought about it,” she said. “‘Oh come on, you’re gonna do something you’ve never done before!’"
“On the match point, I thought about it,” she said. “‘Oh come on, you’re gonna do something you’ve never done before!’ I know it’s just a third round, but I was really looking forward to doing this in New York.”
Badosa next faces qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse, who upset reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets. Ruse won their only previous meeting in Dubai in 2022.
MATCH POINT: Badosa has now won 15 of her last 18 matches.
