"I am super proud of myself": Paula Badosa over the moon after winning DC Open in Washington

Spain’s tennis star Paula Badosa has stated that she has learned to be ‘stronger’ than she initially thought she was after winning the Mumbadala City Open. The 26-year-old has suffered immensely with fitness concerns in the recent past. Because of this, she ended up missing three Grand Slams out of four in 2023.

Badosa returned to the court earlier this year and finally secured her first title in 2024 in Washington when she defeated Marie Bouzkova in the final with a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. The victory was an even more special one as Badosa started the campaign through a wild card but still managed to go all the way and clinch the title. After the match, the New York-born star spoke about how much the victory meant to her. She also stated that she found out that she was stronger than she initially thought she was.

“This means a lot,” she said. “Today was a very difficult day for me because I really wanted to win this title, no matter what. It was very emotional; I finally did it, and I am super proud of myself. What I am most proud of myself is seeing how I handled this week, how I managed the difficult moments, the moments of pressure. I think there were some quite tough ones, especially in the quarterfinals and also today in the final. I am very proud of how I dealt with them. What I have learned is that I am stronger than I thought.”

Badosa had a tough campaign overall, facing some tough opponents. In the first round, she defeated the 2020 Australian Open winner, America’s Sofia Kenin, in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 7-6. In the third round, Badosa defeated the 2021 US Open champion, Britain’s Emma Raducanu, with a score of 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.