“I wasn't coming with a lot of confidence honestly": Paula Badosa reflects on self-doubt after beating Kostyuk

Paula Badosa continues her strong run at the Australian Open and seems ready to reclaim the position she held just a few years ago before injuries took their toll. The former Indian Wells champion secured a hard-fought victory over Marta Kostyuk (17th seed) with a tense handshake at the net to conclude the match.

The Spaniard overcame a formidable opponent, who had reached the Melbourne quarterfinals just a year ago. The match was a rollercoaster, as Badosa controlled the game but suffered a significant dip in the second set, where she was trailing 0-5. However, she reset in the third and clinched an important win, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Badosa holds off Kostyuk in a rollercoaster clash

The former world No. 2 is beginning to find greater consistency in the majors again. In her last three appearances, she has advanced to the second week, a feat she had never achieved consecutively. Badosa expressed satisfaction with her performance in the first week, especially given her shaky start to the season with one win and two losses in earlier tournaments.

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“I think (the) first week, my level, the first two matches were high, very high. But I think especially, mentally, the three of them were even higher,” Badosa explained. “I wasn't coming with a lot of confidence honestly, because of Brisbane and Adelaide. So I think I fought through that. It was tough the first (few) days here but yeah, I overcame the situation, so I'm really proud of that.”

“(It) wasn't easy today, especially the conditions; it was really windy. I was playing indoors, feeling very well, and coming from the first two matches, (it was) totally different conditions. I think today I came out, and it was tough to play, but I think today especially was a mental battle, and I'm happy I got through.”

Badosa will now face one of the surprises of the tournament, Serbia’s Olga Danilovic, who has already knocked out two seeds, including world No. 6 Jessica Pegula, in straight sets. Badosa remains No. 11 in the live rankings and is on the verge of returning to the top 10.

Badosa addresses Kostyuk's tense handshake

A notable moment after the match was the tense handshake Kostyuk gave Badosa at the net. Social media users speculated that Badosa’s close friendship with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka might have caused the tension. Kostyuk has been vocal in the past about her criticism of the world No. 1 due to the war between their countries and has refused to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian opponents.

Kostyuk and Badosa were previously close friends, but it seems the Ukrainian no longer holds much regard for the Spaniard, as Badosa commented in her press conference. "No, it's just her. I mean, I think she's all... she has her own things," Paula Badosa said. "Everything that's going on with Ukraine, the war and all these things that she's been very vocal about."

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