The Spanish tennis player debuts today at the Mutua Madrid Open the number two in the world achieved last week by reaching the semifinals in Stuttgart. Play against Kudermetova in the debut.
After the loss due to injury of Iga Swiatek, number 1 in the world, Paula Badosa (New York, 1997) will be the tennis player with the highest qualification in the third WTA 1000 of the season. She champion in Sydney at the beginning of the course, she attends EL MUNDO and another Spanish outlet at the Caja Mgica, on the eve of its premiere in the capital (around 2:45 p.m.).
- How do you get to Madrid in such an intense and demanding season?
- I arrive well, but honestly I would have liked to have had a couple more days to adapt because the conditions in Madrid are always different. I had to do it quickly. I want to start.
- The draws are very hard from the beginning due to the alterations that have occurred in the ranking. Is it overwhelming to have to fight every tournament to the maximum from the start?
- The truth is that yes. I understand Barty’s decision more and more. [la tenista australiana, que decidi retirarse a los 25 aos siendo nmero 1 del mundo], because the circuit is very, very hard, every week it demands you, every week you start from scratch, almost every week there is a Masters 1000 or an important tournament where you have to try to reach the final rounds. In the position you are in, people demand that you be there. So, it’s a lot of stress. There are many weeks of competition. It is a season that starts in January and ends in November. Maybe it’s too much, but it’s been that way for a long time. I have to adapt to that and regulate myself with my team so that they help me control it.
- How do you mentally prepare for it?
- I go day by day and try to enjoy the rest days, calculate them well. I have a good team that helps me enjoy training too. In the competition it is about giving everything you have at that moment.
- And physically?
- It is also very hard. My physical trainer and my physical therapist help me to recover as well as possible, because I also have a large body that is difficult to recover.
- He was talking about Ashleigh Barty and how he understood her decision to leave him very young. Are we going to see you much longer on the circuit?
- It is one thing to understand it and another for me to do the same. I really like tennis. Since I was little I enjoyed the sport itself. If we add to that the fact that I really like to compete, luckily you are going to see me for many more years on the circuit.
- A year ago I played against her in the semifinals. You looked good, you had just won her first title, but nothing to do with the status you have now. How do you deal with the pressure of being one of the favorites to win each tournament?
- It has been a change that has come very fast. I am adapting to the process. I play like almost all the competitions. My rivals play with less pressure. All the games are very hard, but I am adapting to this new situation. It is a challenge for me. And I have always loved challenges.
- She has a good relationship with Aryna Sabalenka, a Belarusian and her stunt partner. What do you think of the Wimbledon decision to prevent Russian and Belarusian tennis players from playing because of the war?
- It doesn’t make any sense to me. A war is something very, very strong, which should not exist, but another thing is that they mix politics with sports and also in tennis, which is individual and yes, we each have our flag, but Aryna Sabalenka represents her name and I I represent mine. Mixing things that have nothing to do with it and for which she is not to blame does not seem fair to me.
- Does the good relationship you have with most of the players help you better cope with the demands?
- In the end there is a lot of competition. For example, with Sabalenka I get along very well, but three days ago we played [Sabalenka la derrot en semifinales de Stuttgart] and we shook our fists. We know how to differentiate between the competition and what is outside of it.
- She is an ambassador for Krastase and can be seen frequently in non-tennis publications. How’s that other part of her career going? Doesn’t it distract you from the competition?
- I don’t know how long ago I signed for these brands, I think it was in November. I’m number two in the Race. Do you think I’m wrong?
- No, I’d say no.
- No, no, if it is an answer with a question because this is said a lot, but I want to clarify it because much more is said on the feminine side, than if you work with a brand, than if you do photo shoots, because not only have I listened with me; men are not asked, it has been like this all their lives. But hey, we also have great tennis players like Carlos Alcaraz, who makes Rolex and Isdin, and I don’t think that question is asked. I want to clarify it and it is evident that it does not distract me because I am two of the Race.
- Now he has Jorge García as a coach. Change frequently. He has had several in recent years. What do you look for in each of them?
- The changes have come from a decision that in the end fell by itself. I have never been to change the team. When I have a good environment I don’t usually do it. In the end, to square the pieces and have a good environment you have to try many things. Luckily now I’ve found it and you won’t see me changing teams if all is well.
According to the criteria of
Know more
