The Spanish tennis player Paula Badosawho won his first tournament since January 2022 this Sunday, described his victory in WTA 500 in Washington as “one of the greatest” of his career.
“I think this is perhaps the most special moment (of my career), especially because of everything I’ve experienced (…). I had to continue to believe in myself,” said the Spanish tennis player at a press conference.
“Of course, Indian Wells will still be there, but the situation is different. Here I fought a lot against myself and my thoughts.. “I think this is one of the biggest victories of my career,” he added.
Badosa (n.62), who participated in Washington with a “wild card”, beat the Czech in the final Marie Bouzkova (n.29) 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 Catalan’s first title since Sydney 2022 and her fourth trophy in a showcase that also includes Belgrade (2021) and Indian Wells (2021). In addition, she is four out of four in WTA finals.
After a struggle with injuries and poor results that kept her out of the elite, Badosa has found her smile again in Washington and will rise to 40th place in the WTA, She will therefore be the highest ranked Spaniard today.
“It means a lot (this victory). It was a very difficult 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 learned is that I am stronger than I thought. If I believe and I achieve, good things come like a title. Sometimes I doubted myself. I think I shouldn’t do that. “I have to keep believing and I hope it won’t be the last,” he said.
Badosa, who showed a clear improvement at the last Wimbledon by reaching the round of 16, said he is currently in a very good period.
“I couldn’t stop crying”
“I want to test myself a little more but I think I’m on the right track. The most important thing is that I’m motivated and that my body responds. Yes, we can say that I am back” he admitted with a smile.
Finally, Badosa, who throughout his career has spoken very honestly about mental health and the pressure athletes are under, explained what he felt after losing the second set and also seeing how the match was suspended due to rain at the start of the third set.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. It helped me get my emotions out 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 changed. I thought, ‘Paula, it’s just one set, give it everything you can (…)’. It worked out really well, I took advantage of my opportunities and I’m very proud of how I handled it,” she explained.