Badosa on birthday defeat: Swiatek shows me I need to work harder

Spain’s Paula Badosa posted a light-hearted message on social media accusing Poland’s Iga Swiatek of ‘ruining’ her birthday. Both players are currently in Malaga, where they are participating in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Badosa and Swiatek faced each other in the singles category clash on Friday where the former world number one came out on top with a score of 6-3, 6-7, 6-1. After the match, Badosa, in a light-hearted post on her official account on the social media platform Instagram, accused Swiatek for ‘ruining’ her birthday. The current world number 12 turned 27 on Friday. She further went on to praise the Polish tennis star and believes that her defeat against one of the best players in the world shows her how much work she has to do if she wants to be in the discussion of winning big events in the near future.

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“Too good @iga.swiatek thank you for ruining my birthday,” wrote Badosa on her Instagram story with a laughing emoji. “It was very nice to share the court with you again. You made me realise I still need to work my a** off a bit more. Keep inspiring.” Swiatek was quick to respond as she wrote: “Thank you @paulabadosa. It’s such a privilege to share [the] court with you.”

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Badosa had an impressive season overall. The New York-born star, who returned to the court earlier this year after spending nearly 12 months on the sidelines because of a serious back injury, played 55 matches this year and won 37 of them. Her best outing this year came in the Mubadala Open in Washington, where she lifted the title after beating the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova in the final with a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Badosa finished the year strongly as in the last three out of the four events in 2024, she ended up playing in the semifinal.