Paula Badosa speaks on the burden of early expectations

Paula Badosa talked about the pressure of expectations on her at a young age. The Spaniard acknowledged that she was mentally unprepared, but that it also helped build her into a stronger tennis player.

The 26-year-old tennis player burst onto the scene in 2015 by becoming the French Open junior women's champion. Badosa reached No. 8 on the junior circuit and four years later was already in the top-100 on the professional Tour. In 2021, she won the most important title of her career in Indian Wells, her only WTA 1000 title so far and which later allowed her to reach world No. 2.

Badosa's meteoric career was cut short when she was at No. 2. Little by little the Spaniard began to accumulate defeats and an irregular form, which added to injuries derailed her career. In 2022 he dropped out of the top-10 and missed the second half of the season in 2023, making him just world No. 140.

The Spaniard seems to be getting out of trouble, after showing a good level at the Rome Open, with wins over players like Mirra Andreeva (No. 38) and Emma Navarro (No. 22). Badosa lost to Coco Gauff (No. 3) in a Round of 16 and lost points as she was defending last year's quarterfinals. The bright side for Badosa is that for the rest of the season she does not defend points and all the wins will help her to grow in the rankings.

Badosa recently answered an interview with the Youtube channel Georgy Tennis, in which she commented on the expectations on her, especially considering her origin in Spain: “There were a lot of expectations on me, especially in Spain, where I was expected to be the next Top 10, the next star, but I was not mentally prepared to face all that,” she said.

"I suffered a lot for two years, I remember that I was in a very dark moment in which I did not see the light. Thanks to that, I am the person I am today, the fighter that I am, that made me stronger," Badosa added.

The Spaniard added that one of her qualities on the court is her fighting spirit and she hopes people recognize her for that. Badosa also mentioned that she comes with good confidence to Roland Garros: “I always give my 100% on the court, and that's what I want to show the whole world, that no matter how I play that day, I will fight until the end,” she said."

Roland Garros has always been a special tournament for me, I like to play on clay, I feel quite good. It always depends a little on the draw, you never know, but I think that if I am healthy and train well these days, I can play against anyone," Paula Badosa said in the interview with Georgy Tennis.