Paula Badosa is back. The Catalan showed this Sunday that the process of returning to the tennis elite is going from strength to strength with the title achieved at the Washington tournament.
He resigned from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games needing results, points that solidified his climb up the rankings, and won his personal gold. He fell on the track and burst into tears of joy. He had a bad time, the reward came. He immediately took out his cell phone, and more tears in a short but intense video call.
“I called my family and Stefanos because I know they are always there to help me. They are in a difficult time. They saw me very depressed this past year.. I wanted to live those moments with them because, of course, without them, I wouldn’t be here because they support me every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” he said after the final.
Already at a press conference, Badosa described his victory as “one of the greatest” of his career.
“I think this is probably the most special moment (of my career), especially because of everything I’ve been through (…). I have to keep believing in myself,” said the Spanish tennis player at a press conference.
“Of course, Indian Wells will always be there but this is a different situation. Here I fought hard against myself and my thoughts. I think this is one of the biggest achievements of my career.” he added.
Badosa (n.62), who participated in Washington with a ‘wild card’, She defeated Czech Marie Bouzkova (no.29) in the final by 6-1, 4-6 and 6-4 in two hours and 24 minutes. The match was suspended twice due to bad weather.
This is the first title for the Catalan since Sydney in 2022 and this is his fourth trophy in a showcase that also includes Belgrade (2021) and Indian Wells (2021). In addition, she is four out of four in the WTA finals.
After suffering severe injuries and poor results that kept him away from the elite, Badosa regained her smile in Washington and will climb to 40th place in the WTAso this would be the currently highest ranked Spanish.
“It means a lot (this win). It was a very hard day for me because I really wanted to win this title no matter what. It was very emotional and I finally achieved it,” he said.
“What I have learned is that I am stronger than I thought. If I believe and go for it, good things come like a title. Sometimes I doubt myself. I think I shouldn’t do that. I need to keep believing and I hope this is not the last,” he said.
Badosa, who at the last Wimbledon showed clear improvement in reaching the round of 16, indicated that she is in a very good moment.
“I want to test myself a little more but I think I’m on the way. The most important thing is that I’m motivated and my body is responding. Yes, we can say that I’m back,” she admitted with a smile.
Finally, Badosa, who throughout his career has spoken about mental health and the pressure athletes are under, explained how he felt after losing the second set and also saw how the match was suspended due to – rain.
“I left the court crying a lot. I couldn’t stop crying. My team didn’t know what to do because I was crying non-stop,” he described.
“I tried to calm down. That helped me release my emotions because I was very nervous. Sometimes I want to win so much that I can’t control myself. It’s a bit like what happened in the third set. So, after crying for I don’t know how long, I relaxed , I calmed down, I told myself: ‘Paula, it’s just a set, just give everything you can (…)’ It worked very well taking advantage of my opportunities and I’m proud of how I dealt with it, ” he explained.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
