Paula Badosa remember that “in Madrid I hit the bottom.” From the top 100 in the world, to using injections in his back to continue playing, he doubted whether he could regain the level he had before the lumbar injury. In March, at Indian Wells, several doctors even recommended that he hang up his racket as a cure for his ailments, a back problem that sidelined him from July to December.
From May to August only four months passed, but for Badosa it was returning to her life, re-expressing her passion for tennis, her desire for competition. He is knocking on the doors of the world top-20, with the idea of getting closer to the number 2 he will occupy in 2022, he will play his first round of 16 at the US Open, this Sunday against the Chinese Yafan Wang, with a lower potential than in Spanish under normal conditions.
Champion of the WTA 500 in Washington, her fourth professional title, and semi-finalist in Cincinnati, the real Badosa is living in New York, taking advantage of the break afforded by her back. “He was responsive and physically, tennis was always there,” he says.
Match ball saved against the Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse at the US Open. He dares everything, under any circumstances. Like night and day for weeks. “I didn’t want to continue playing this sport after Madrid,” he remembers.
He had his reasons because “I wasn’t responding well. My results were not what I expected at that time. It was really bad. In my head I was thinking: ‘Maybe I should stop because if I’m not at the highest. No I want to play this sport.’ ‘That’s my personality.
He rebelled against poverty, helped by his closest people. He took advantage of the new success in New York to point out the ‘culprit’ of his change. At least one of them. “I give him all the importance because in the end he is with me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, he is the one who saw me cry, suffer, not believe in myself, with doubts: the “I saw that I didn’t want to continue playing, especially after Madrid I didn’t want to continue playing this sport,” he said about his coach. Pol Toledo.
“He always said that with patience, working and listening to him the results would come. And obviously, he has always been on my side. I think the way he also sees tennis is very good and has helped me a lot, I think I will see You can also see on the court that the way I play is different from a few years ago,” he said.
In the stands, next to Pol Toledo, a tennis childhood friend from Badosa, Claudia Taberner. And the recovery of the physical trainer David Antona.
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.
