America-born Spaniard Paula Badosa reveals why she calls Dubai her 'second home' ahead of World Tennis League campaign
Paula Badosa shared her pleasant training experience at the Dubai Police Officers Club, where she has spent the last six months and has fallen in love with everything it has to offer.
The 25-year-old star is all set to begin her warmup for the 2023 season at the inaugural edition of the World Tennis League. The exhibition tournament will be held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai from December 19-24. She will be a part of Team Falcons alongside the likes of World No. 5 Novak Djokovic, Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
During a recent interview with Gulf News, the Spaniard, who was born in the US, expressed her admiration for her current city of residence — Dubai. Calling it "one of the best cities in the world," Badosa stated that she was blown away by the warmth of people and the great weather.
"I've been living here in Dubai this past year. I love this city, it's one of my favorite cities in the whole world. I chose this city because it's one of the best. I feel amazing here. The people are so nice, you have amazing facilities and the weather is very nice," Paula Badosa said.
"I want to do well here. I like Dubai. It’s like my second home. So yeah, Dubai is in my heart," she added.
The World No. 13 shed light on how she started training at the Dubai Police Officers Club and fell in love with the facilities available. She praised the staff for helping her explore various places in the city on her off days.
"I remember Dubai Police offered me to come and see these facilities one day and I just fell in love with this place. I love it, people welcome me so nicely and I feel at home here. The facilities are amazing for a professional athlete. They have an amazing gym, food, and tennis courts, so for me, it's the perfect place to be. They're super helpful. Even if I have a day off, they help me in visiting other places like Safaris and Burj Khalifa. I recommend this place to everyone. They take care of you and you can train and at the same time, be calm and relaxed here," she added.
Paula Badosa's schedule at World Tennis League
Paula Badosa, who will be representing Team Falcons in the World Tennis League, will begin her campaign by teaming up with Grigor Dimitrov to challenge Dominic Thiem and Anett Kontaveit of Team Hawks on December 20.
The Spaniard's next task will be to beat Team Eagles' Caroline Garcia, who won the recently-concluded 2022 WTA Finals and reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 for the second time this year.
Badosa will once again play a doubles match partnering with Dimitrov and their opponents in the last league match of the tournament will be Holger Rune and Sania Mirza of Team Kites.