"I don't want to be where I am right now" - Paula Badosa on her injury struggles and hunger to return to the top
Paula Badosa opened up about her goals ahead of the Roland Garros later this month. The Spaniard shared that she wants to return stronger, enhance her performance and ultimately increase the win percentage.
Badosa played her last match against third seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round of the 2024 Italian Open. She started strong in the first set but lost steam in the last two and ultimately was eliminated by Gauff 7-5, 6-4, 6-1.
The Spaniard has not had a deep run this season, and the best she could reach was the round of 16 in the Hua Hin Championships, then the Stuttgart Open, and finally the Italian Open.
The 26-year-old recently sat for an interview with Georgy Tennis, where she touched on her injury struggles, informing that she feels some pain in her back after the four matches she played at Foro Italico.
"I am going to be totally honest, my back has to respond. Like after these four matches I feel sometimes the pain it's not great but especially I want to have matches like yesterday, even though they are emotional or they are tough but this is what I live for." [7:34]
The former World No. 2 expressed a strong desire to reclaim her position among the world's top tennis players by winning the majority of matches in the future.
"I want to play as many matches as possible against the top players. And I am not gonna lie, I mean I have this personality that is always going to be like this I want to be back to the best players in the world that's why I play tennis for and I don't want to be where I am right now, honestly. I want to be more than that so ofcourse keep enjoying competing but trying to win as many matches as possible and to be at the top."
Badosa came into the spotlight after winning the French Open girl's singles title in 2015. In 2019, she entered the WTA Top 100 for the very first time. Despite reaching her career-high ranking of No. 2 in 2022, she couldn't continue with that form and was sidelined due to injury.
"If I am healthy and If I train good these days I can play against anybody" - Paula Badosa on her French Open participation
Paula Badosa revealed in the interview that she considers Roland Garros a "special tournament" and she could compete effectively if she trains well.
"Roland Garros has always been a special tournament for me. I like to play on clay. I think I am feeling pretty good. Of course it depends little bit on the draw, you never know. But I think that if I am healthy and if I train good these days I can play against anybody." [2:00]
Badosa who likes playing on clay courts will look to win her first Grand Slam title at the Roland Garros. The qualifiers of the clay court slam are underway.