Paula Badosa is having an incredible summer, playing top-10 level tennis again. Spain may not have won an Olympic gold medal in tennis, but they must have celebrated the title win of their most successful women’s tennis player in the last three years. Badosa defeated Marie Bouzkova at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C, to win her first title in 30 months and fourth of her career. Toronto came up a little too quickly for the Spaniard, but she picked up in Cincinnati. She reached the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open, which ensured her a spot at the US Open.
Badosa is an Incredible Fighter
Badosa has been playing quite well this season (including both at Wimbledon and Roland Garros) but was unlucky to be stopped in her tracks by Aryna Sabalenka (three times), Coco Gauff, and Donna Vekic, due to being unseeded. She also faced in-form Diana Shnaider twice and Danielle Collins en route to them winning the tournaments.
It’s so good for the tour to have capable players who are healthy and in the mix. Paula Badosa is playing the best I’ve seen her since 2021 when she was silently climbing her way up the rankings. She is hitting the ball hard this time and using all her previously underused physical power, not so much trying to grind it out. She will hope a deep run at the US Open is upcoming.
So much has happened between her last title in Sydney two plus years ago and now. A while ago, she had a major back stress fracture (the kind of injury that has propelled other former players into retirement) that took her out for numerous months. Her playing tennis right now essentially depends on consistent cortisone injections. That’s so unsustainable, but she’s making the gamble.
I have no idea what lies ahead for Badosa next week, for the rest of the year, or after that, but for her to come back and find a way to win a WTA 500 title and make a Masters semifinals, after all she’s been through and is continuing to go through? Incredible stuff. Salute to her for coming back and always fighting even when no one else believed in her health’s resilience. Not even her body trusts itself, yet she’s here. All the massive kudos to her.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
