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Paula Badosa, the 26th seed, dispatched Yafan Wang of China 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday to advance to her second career Grand Slam quarterfinal at the U.S. Open in New York.

The Spain product and former top-five player went 8-for-8 in saving break points and 4-for-5 in converting break points to prevail in one hour, 22 minutes at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

It was a remarkable turn of events for Badosa, who despite being just 26 years old has contemplated retirement due to pain from a stress fracture of her back.

Instead, Badosa now awaits the winner of Coco Guaff and Emma Navarro with a chance to compete for her first Grand Slam title creeping ever closer.

“A few months ago, I was thinking to quit this sport because I stopped believing in myself and my injury wasn’t responding,” said Badosa, who reached the quarterfinals at the 2021 French Open. “So to be back (at this level) is a dream come true.

“For me, with all respect, tennis doesn’t make sense if I’m not on the top. I want to play big stages. I want to play the last rounds of every tournament. I want to be one of the best players in the world.”

Yang fell behind 5-0 and never threatened in the first set, but she leveraged 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the second set before eventually succumbing. Down 3-2 in the sixth game with a chance to tie things up again, Yang battled through seven exchanges until Badosa won the game, and eventually the match.

Badosa was also perfect (8-for-8) on service games won in becoming the first Spanish woman to reach the U.S. Open quarters since Carla Suarez Navarro in 2018.

–Field Level Media