Paula Badosa he got into the elite this year, with 24 completed on November 15 and closing it at number eight in the world rankings. He won 43 individual matches and lost 17. He began the season with a Covid positive in Melbourne, which involved a three-week quarantine, and closed it by making his WTA Finals debut, reaching the semifinals in Guadalajara. She debuted her record of titles at the WTA 250 in Belgrade and made history as the first Spanish woman to win the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells. Almost without transition, after just a few days of vacation and a preseason with the main center in Marbella, he is already packing his bags for Adelaide, where he will open his 2022 campaign from January 3.
Tennis seasons are practically chained.
This year everything is being intense, we have little time for everything. I have tried to make the most of the holidays. Also intense in their own way. But the truth is that I have returned very quickly, it is three weeks of preseason and already in Australia starting again.
Have you been able to disconnect?
I made the most of the holidays, but it’s super short time. Mentally I do what I can, I am like stuck in an intense wheel and I am not aware of everything that is happening. I do not have time to stop, but I am not complaining and also there is no other.
Is it easier when there is a prize?
It helps that everything goes well. You enter a dynamic that you enjoy even in the daily intensity and fully involved in hard work. I am in a dynamic that does not bother me to be with this intensity nor does it matter to me, because I do not know if it would be good to stop it.
“I do what I like and I do not suffer so much in this life, in quotes, from madness”
Is it difficult to leave your age-related things behind?
You leave many things behind, yes, but you make up for it with the successes you have, winning tournaments, playing good games, enjoying the day to day. I am lucky that I really like tennis, I enjoy competing and I also enjoy training, being in the world of tennis, the tennis life. I feel very lucky because I do what I like and I do not suffer so much this intensity and a life, in quotes, of madness.
It’s not just tennis anymore, it’s also what it means to be a top.
I take it as part of our life as an athlete. There are days when I haven’t had time to be on the couch for more than half an hour, I haven’t stopped, but it’s my job. In the end it may be ten very intense days, training to the fullest and at the same time having to face other commitments. They are working twenty-four hours, but it is the price when there is success. And welcome.
How do you feel about being famous?
Coming from where I come from, that I grew up in a town (Begur, on the Costa Brava) and that I play tennis because I like sport, I would prefer everything to be more discreet, have more moments for myself and enjoy things that I don’t now I can both. Now, what happiness does it give me to win Indian Wells and be number eight in the world? This gives me so much that I have no problem with everything else.
Is preseason the worst part?
It is hard. The worst is because you stop competing and the athlete does not have that competition drug, adrenaline. It’s a month without her and we miss her. Much in my case. I already want to feel that adrenaline and nerves that competition gives you again. That’s why sometimes the preseason is what you like least.
He said he needed to improve physically and has made significant progress. Is it a priority?
It was a weakness that I had and I have taken a big step forward. I still have a lot of room for improvement but I am very mentalized because I think that the physical is key for my performance. I am focusing my daily work a lot on this aspect because I need it to stay and improve. And food is also very important, because it is the little details that make a big difference.
“I have experienced many new things and I want to be less wrong next year”
During the 2021 campaign, he pointed out that some important games had eluded him more because of a more emotional issue. How is it solved?
With experience. There are many situations that I have experienced for the first time. And also working it with people from my team. I have experienced new things. The mental issue, more in this sport, is very important. I have made self-criticism of games like Roland Garros (the defeat against Tamara Zidansek in the quarterfinals) or Mexico (semifinals of the WTA Finals against Garbiñe Muguruza) in which I have not been one hundred percent mentally due to emotional issues, lack of experience. As it is very important, I am working on it because in 2022 I want to make less mistakes than last year (2021).
Have you heard the classic recommendation that you have reached the top but it costs the same or more to stay?
You are always on the alert. When I got into the top-100, they also told me now you have to consolidate. When in the top-50 or in the top-30, the same. Like they are always warning you. They are phrases that are always there, people have the right to have an opinion but listening to everything they say and alarming you or not is already up to you. I am very clear about my journey, how I got there. Insecurity and uncertainty are always there, but I am also very clear about how I got there and how to continue doing it. And, very importantly, the desire and predisposition are also there. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to stay in the top-10 or higher.
And the pressure to defend titles or ranking points?
You have it in mind, it can cause more tension when it arrives. But it is not important either because I focus more on the Race, the ranking of the year, because in the end it’s like we all started from zero and I know more or less the points I have to score to get to where I want to be. I focus more on what I have to do, how many points I have to add than not on what I can lose or subtract. Mentally it helps me more to think about what I have to add than not about what I can lose.
“It took me longer to get into the top-100 than the top-10, and they seem like two different sports.”
Does entering the top-100 or the top-10 change?
It’s incredible, it’s a huge difference, they seem like two different sports that have nothing to do with each other. Simply with the treatment you can have or the impact or the facilities. But to me mentally the effort is the same in the top-100 as in the top-10. It is very, very difficult. Maybe it took me more to get into the top-100 than to get into the 10. Getting into the 100 took a lot, many more years.
After the steps taken, what about No. 1 and the Grand Slams?
I wish, I’ve always looked at them, they were always there. It remains to arrive, of course. Because of my confidence and the big steps I’m taking, what I’m climbing, you believe more that you can do it one day. That helps, but yes, you are closer but they are still far and difficult because there are many good tennis players who are looking for it just like you.
Garbiñe Muguruza, one of his references, said that his challenge is to complete the Grand Slam after winning the WTA Finals.
He has a talent for doing it, he has shown it. He is a very competitive person and eager.
Talent and desire has also taught Badosa. What other item would you buy?
I would buy experience, spend more time at the top, play every week with the best. Matches winning and losing, learning. All those years that Garbiñe has been are those that perhaps I lack to know how to be and have that management as good as she is.
“We all have our fears and insecurities, the goal is to manage them, live with them”
Any fear from above?
The fear is always there. If I did not say it, I would be denying a reality. And not only for the athlete, it is part of our life, we all have our insecurities at some point. You are always with the question and if not … The objective is to learn to manage it and to live with it. Have more positive and intense messages so that this fear ends up being five percent of your thinking, and not twenty or forty.
What has been the best and worst of 2021?
The best, the end of the year, Indian Wells has been the best of my career so far. I have had a hard time in a great year, because of the Covid in Australia, which affected me, the defeat at Roland Garros is on my mind and it hurt me a lot, being left without a coach in the middle of the season, having to play some turns without a coach, a step that I had never done and that helped me to be stronger. There have been very good things and I see it more positively, such as the semi-finals in Madrid, one of my favorite tournaments, and the defeat at Roland Garros were still a quarter-final. And I debuted in a WTA Finals. A very intense year of emotions.
“I always say what I think because I think it is important to try to help young people”
Were you surprised by the huge echo of your victory at Indian Wells? Do you have a special magnet for people?
I have not considered it, I do not know, but I am glad that it has this repercussion. People following me is great. Knowing this, I try not only to hit the ball forehand and backhand, but also to help young people. I always say what I think because I think it is important. I am not not saying this just in case, I am quite sincere and if I can help I take advantage now that people follow me.
Australian Open and vaccination
“I did what was my turn”
Paula Badosa heads to Australia. His first appointment is in the city of Adelaide, with the aim of arriving safely in Melbourne for the Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, from January 17 to 30. Any participant must submit a complete Covid vaccination schedule or request a medically reasonable exemption to an independent supervisory panel.
Regarding this measure, the Catalan says that “I am on the sidelines, I have done what is my turn, which is to get vaccinated. I respect all decisions, each one must be free to make their own, to do what they create best for their health. If there are people who want to or not, I respect everyone. I have done it and I think it was important to do it ”. In addition, “it makes it easier for me to go to Australia and not make a bubble life that was very hard”
What do you ask of 2022?
To continue in this vein, enjoying my career, tennis, and hopefully a tournament as big and good as Indian Wells. Another WTA 1000 or a Grand Slam.
Will the continuous change of champions continue on the WTA Tour or will there be a dominant queen?
We will continue like this, women’s tennis is very close, something different can happen every day. This uncertainty for the viewer makes it more exciting and fun. You don’t always see the same thing. And there are years for someone to dominate alone can come out.
Any surprises in store for your game?
I’m working on it, making small improvements that I think I need because I like being a complete tennis player. As they are a surprise, you better discover it little by little.
