Paula Badosa’s Australian Open comeback was brought back to earth with a thud. Oksana Selekhmeteva, playing with freedom and nerve, stunned the former world No. 2 in straight sets, delivering one of the early shocks of the tournament and triggering a steep rankings slide for the Spaniard.
The 6-4, 6-4 defeat ends Badosa’s Melbourne run far earlier than planned and strips away the bulk of the points she carried from her 2025 semifinal appearance. The immediate fallout is severe, with Badosa projected to drop nearly 40 places to around world No. 64.
For Selekhmeteva, still just 23, the win carries a quiet sense of geography as well as significance.
Born in Kamenka, a small village near the Athmis River in Russia, she is now poised to add her name to a short but notable local roll call that includes Nikolay Burdenko, the founder of Russian neurosurgery, and Anatoliy Chizhov, a politician and rocket engineer.
Tennis may not yet feature on Kamenka’s sporting map, but Oksana Selekhmeteva has changed that with this stunning victory.
She played it with thought and precision, slicing and constructing points before finishing with engineering-grade force.
A Harsh Reality Check After a Fragile Return
Badosa arrived in Australia still piecing herself back together after months sidelined through injury. Brisbane marked the restart button, but a 2-3 record coming into Melbourne underlined how much rust remained.
There were flashes in her opening-round win over Zarina Diyas, particularly in the weight of her groundstrokes. Against Selekhmeteva, however, those flashes were drowned out by inconsistency, especially on serve, where the Spaniard never found a reliable rhythm.
Paula Badosa: Results from Her Last 10 Matches
| Date | Event | Round | Match | Score | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Jan 2026 | Aus Open | R64 | Badosa vs Selekhmeteva | 4–6 4–6 | L |
| Jan 2026 | Aus Open | R128 | Badosa d. Diyas | 6–2 6–4 | W |
| Jan 2026 | Adelaide | R32 | Bouzkova d. Badosa | 3–6 6–3 6–4 | L |
| Jan 2026 | Brisbane | R16 | Rybakina d. Badosa | 6–3 6–2 | L |
| Jan 2026 | Brisbane | R32 | Badosa d. Bouzkova | 6–7(4) 6–4 6–2 | W |
| Sep 2025 | Beijing | R32 | Muchova d. Badosa | 4–2 RET | L |
| Sep 2025 | Beijing | R64 | Badosa d. Ruzic | 6–3 7–6(2) | W |
| Sep 2025 | BJK Cup Finals | RR | Svitolina d. Badosa | 5–7 6–2 7–5 | L |
| Jun 2025 | Wimbledon | R128 | Boulter d. Badosa | 6–2 3–6 6–4 | L |
| Jun 2025 | Berlin | QF | Xin Yu Wang d. Badosa | 6–1 0–0 RET | L |
Across her last ten matches, Badosa has gone 3–7, with four losses to Top-15 opposition and two retirements, underlining how fitness and match sharpness continue to dictate her results more than form alone.
Selekhmeteva Strikes First and Stays Brave
The opening set ran away from Badosa almost immediately. Selekhmeteva raced to a 4-0 lead, feasting on short balls and a first-serve percentage that slumped to 47%, with Badosa winning just 53% of those points.
To her credit, Badosa fought back hard. Two breaks on five chances dragged her level at 4-4, briefly restoring order and belief. But the serve deserted her again, and Selekhmeteva broke for a third time before holding her nerve from 15-40 down to pocket the set, 6-4.
Selekhmeteva vs Badosa – Set 1 Stats
| Statistic | Selekhmeteva | Badosa |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 1.05 | 0.95 |
| Winners | 7 | 7 |
| Unforced Errors | 16 | 17 |
| Serve Rating | 224 | 184 |
| Aces | 0 | 1 |
| Double Faults | 3 | 4 |
| 1st Serve % | 67% (28/42) | 47% (15/32) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 57% (16/28) | 53% (8/15) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 43% (6/14) | 47% (8/17) |
| Break Points Saved | 75% (6/8) | 57% (4/7) |
| Ace % | 0% | 3.1% |
| Double Fault % | 7.1% | 12.5% |
| Return Rating | 203 | 165 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 47% (7/15) | 43% (12/28) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 53% (9/17) | 57% (8/14) |
| Break Points Won | 43% (3/7) | 25% (2/8) |
| Return Games | 60% (3/5) | 40% (2/5) |
| Pressure Points | 60% (9/15) | 40% (6/15) |
| Service Points | 52% (22/42) | 50% (16/32) |
| Return Points | 50% (16/32) | 48% (20/42) |
| Net Points | 63% (5/8) | 0% (0/2) |
| Total Points | 51% (38/74) | 49% (36/74) |
| Match Points Saved | 0 | 0 |
| Max Points In A Row | 4 | 5 |
| Max Games In A Row | 4 | 4 |
| Set 1 Duration | 0h50m | |
Errors Mount as the Door Slams Shut
The second set offered early encouragement when Badosa held to open, yet it proved fleeting. Selekhmeteva broke quickly, moved ahead 3-1, and began to look increasingly comfortable dictating play.
Badosa’s error count told the story. She finished with 36 unforced errors, split almost evenly across the two sets, a reflection of timing still out of sync rather than a lack of intent. Even after clawing back one break and saving a match point, she could not stop Selekhmeteva serving out the biggest win of her career, again by a 6-4 margin.
Selekhmeteva vs Badosa – Set 2 Stats
| Statistic | Selekhmeteva | Badosa |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 1.09 | 0.91 |
| Winners | 9 | 10 |
| Unforced Errors | 16 | 19 |
| Serve Rating | 251 | 231 |
| Aces | 0 | 3 |
| Double Faults | 4 | 2 |
| 1st Serve % | 57% (20/35) | 63% (20/32) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 65% (13/20) | 65% (13/20) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 53% (8/15) | 42% (5/12) |
| Break Points Saved | 75% (3/4) | 50% (2/4) |
| Ace % | 0% | 9.4% |
| Double Fault % | 11.4% | 6.3% |
| Return Rating | 183 | 127 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 35% (7/20) | 35% (7/20) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 58% (7/12) | 47% (7/15) |
| Break Points Won | 50% (2/4) | 25% (1/4) |
| Return Games | 40% (2/5) | 20% (1/5) |
| Pressure Points | 63% (5/8) | 38% (3/8) |
| Service Points | 60% (21/35) | 56% (18/32) |
| Return Points | 44% (14/32) | 40% (14/35) |
| Net Points | 100% (4/4) | 50% (2/4) |
| Total Points | 52% (35/67) | 48% (32/67) |
| Match Points Saved | 0 | 1 |
| Max Points In A Row | 4 | 5 |
| Max Games In A Row | 3 | 2 |
| Set 2 Duration | 0h50m | |
Ranking Fallout and What Comes Next
For Selekhmeteva, just 23 and making only her second Australian Open main-draw appearance, the win sends her into the third round of a major for the first time and lifts her to a live ranking high around No. 74.
For Badosa, the consequences are more sobering. Failing to defend her Melbourne points drops her outside the top 60 and leaves her chasing momentum as well as matches.
The next phase comes in the Middle East, with Abu Dhabi and Doha offering both opportunity and pressure as she works to rebuild a ranking that no longer reflects her ceiling, but accurately reflects her current fragility.