Paula Badosa lost the first set but led 5-1 in the second set against Emma Navarro in the 2024 US Open quarterfinal. The Spaniard then let the big lead slip; Navarro won six games in a row to advance. Badosa later said she needed time to process what happened, and that she was “disappointed.”
On Tuesday, September 3, Badosa and Navarro participated in their first-ever US Open quarterfinal at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The American raced to a 3-0 lead early on, and broke Badosa again at 5-2 to bag the first set convincingly.
In the second set, the Spaniard dominated proceedings to take a 5-1 lead. The American, however, had other plans. Navarro managed to win six games in a row, including 24 out of the last 28 points, to win the set and advance to the semifinal.
During her post-match press conference, Badosa said there’s a “first time” for everything – including letting such a big lead slip through her fingers.
“This is the first time it has happened to me in my career. I think losing a set from 5-1 up, I never did that before. So I think there is always a first time for something, so it had to come today, unfortunately,” Paula Badosa said.
The 26-year-old added that she was unsure how she let the lead slip. Badosa said:
“I don’t know. I still need to think what happened, because I had two service games there also. I started to miss. I lost, I don’t know, 20 points almost in a row. It’s very weird for me because I’m quite a consistent player, so I wasn’t expecting that either. I’m quite disappointed.”
Paula Badosa says she ‘never had momentum’ despite her lead against Emma Navarro in US Open 2024 QF
Paula Badosa at the 2024 US Open. (Image: Getty)
Paula Badosa at the 2024 US Open. (Image: Getty)
Paula Badosa said she ‘never had the momentum’ in her 2024 US Open quarterfinal against Emma Navarro. Despite leading 5-1 in the second set, the Spaniard did not feel like she was playing well. In her post-match press conference, she said:
“I never had the momentum in this match. I played four or five games okay. It was 5-1, but I never felt myself in the court. I didn’t feel serving well, playing well from the baseline. That’s my biggest strength.
“So I think today it surprised me because I was playing pretty good the other matches, I was feeling good. But when I walked into the court, I think I didn’t match well the situation or the emotions.”
This was Badosa’s best result at a Grand Slam since her quarterfinal exit at the 2021 French Open. Meanwhile, Navarro has reached her first Grand Slam semifinal and will take on either Aryna Sabalenka or Zheng Qinwen.