Laughing and relaxed, Paula Badosa (New York, 25 years old) chats in the stands of the La Cartuja stadium during the pleasant midday in Seville, where the great celebration of world women’s tennis begins today, the Billie Jean King Cup. tennis player, who rose to the second step of the circuit last year and the previous year was crowned in Indian Wells, reappears by surprise and will lead the Spanish team after practically half a year in the infirmary, due to the fracture of a vertebra (L4) that It stopped its progression in May and with which it will have to live from now on. She has already recovered, although without losing sight of that back that can be noticed at any moment, next season she will try to recover the ground and the lost months, although no deadlines are imposed. “He ranking? “I don’t even want to know, I deleted the app!” she says. The slowdown has relegated him to the competitive backroom, not the media; It is 66th in the world, but the momentum is still intact. Generous in the conversation with EL PAÍS, the Catalan wants to close a professional course to forget on a high note.
Ask. How are you?
Answer. It has been a long and difficult process, especially mentally because I always hoped that I would be able to return and I was doing tests, and it was very difficult for me to accept that I had to stop. There came a time when I said to myself: ‘Well, you have to sit still and forget about the competition this year.’ I finally made the decision in the United States [antes del US Open]. Now the pain is there, but the tests have gone well and that is the most important thing.
Q. At Wimbledon you said that you did not regret having returned to play before the deadline, but, given what happened, do you maintain your opinion?
R. No, now I regret it. I don’t like to regret things, but in this case I do a little, because in the end I was hasty; I was unaware of this injury and, perhaps due to lack of information, I made the wrong decision at that time. It’s very complicated because one day you feel good and suddenly the next three you feel bad, so you get lost easily. I couldn’t do normal daily life because I was wearing a belt and had to lie down, doing six or seven hours a day of magneto, so I was completely stopped. That’s really hard for me because I’m kind of hyperactive. It has been very difficult to handle, honestly.
Q. Theoretically he was not going to return until January, again it is anticipated. What has made you change your mind?
R. A few weeks ago I did a test and the bone was welded, so I could start training. Obviously, my form was quite far from what I would like, but since I knew that the bone was good and this final phase was at home, I felt a special motivation; I set a short-term goal and that always helps. Here I will try to help in any way I can.
I have learned to be more patient since they love me for just being Paula, not for being the tennis player on TV.
Q. What have you learned in this last process?
R. It has been a very hard year, perhaps the hardest of my career. I have had other very difficult ones, but in this one I have not had the option to do anything because you cannot control this injury, and that has cost me. I have learned to have a lot of patience and accept the things that I cannot control, and at the same time I have realized that even though I have been playing tennis since I was seven years old and it is my passion, there are things beyond this. sport. When I stopped I was very scared to think: ‘Who am I?’ Because in the end I am known for being a tennis player, and I thought: ‘Am I worth the same now? What I do?’. All those insecurities come to you, but little by little you realize that you are the same person and that you have the same people by your side, and that they love you for being Paula, not for being the tennis player on TV. That has made me happy in a different way, beyond the fact that I am dying to continue playing for many years if this injury allows me, because it is a bit chronic and complicated, and I will have to always keep an eye on it.
Q. A few years ago he suffered a lot, but from a mental point of view. When have you had it worst?
R. They are different times. Obviously, overcoming that was the hardest thing in my life. I was very young and I didn’t understand what was happening to me, I felt very bad. I had to grow up. Now, if I have a bad day I am aware of what is happening to me and I can half control it. I tell myself: ‘Today we are like this, but tomorrow the sun will rise again.’ I manage that better.
Q. For some time now you have been perceived as hurt by the press, is that correct?
R. I’m not going to deny it. I’m a little hurt because I think it’s judged too easy. It’s very easy to see me from the outside, in a game, and say: ‘she’s already retired, or she’s dedicated to doing this or that…’, when they don’t know the daily effort you’re making. I have been unemployed, but I have been working every day; the mental part, watching games, recovery… Everything that is not seen. But of course, since they don’t see you compete, people judge and remove others very easily, and that hurts. I think that even though she has been injured, I am valuable as a tennis player. Apart from this, I have a relationship with another tennis player [Stefanos Tsitsipas, seis del mundo] and all this can influence you, so you have to know how to handle it and stay in the bubble.
Q. Are you more distrustful now?
R. Maybe. I’m more careful, but at the same time I’m very natural, and if I have to say like I’m telling you now that I’m hurt, I do it. I try not to say what people expect, but to be honest; If that is going to cause some bad headline to appear, then that’s it; It will be a few regular days and I will learn from it, that’s it. I understand that this is a business and that people may be more interested in the latest bag I carry when I walk around Madrid than in how my recovery is going. In the end, that sells more, so I can understand it.
I’m hurt, people judge very easily and withdraw you very quickly. And that hurts. I think I’m worth it
Q. They say that he is harming his partner’s career. What do you feel when you read or hear these types of statements?
R. That has hurt me a lot, because with the whole issue of the injury, I have actually been able to dedicate myself quite a bit to helping him. We both love tennis and he is also a super-working person, we are very similar in the goals we set for ourselves. We talk a lot about tennis and we help each other a lot. As you can see, I have gone to the track to support him or to the gym to accompany him, always respecting the times and his people, his team; He has also supported me a lot with the injury, so when we read those things it impacts us. Sometimes people are not able to understand how that can affect you, or affect a relationship. I can understand that we are public figures and that we are exposed, but in the end we are two children 25 years old and all this is delicate, because it is an innocent relationship; We have met and it has arisen, and for people to go around saying things is quite serious, because they are destroying the career of someone who has spent his entire life dedicating himself to what he does. I don’t think that giving an opinion this way is very humane.
Q. Today’s elite tennis consumes professionals, cases abound. Do you have that feeling?
R. It’s not by chance. It’s no coincidence that you see Barty [número uno] retiring at 25 years old, to Osaka [cuatro Grand Slams] going through a mentally difficult period, then Garbiñe [Muguruza]…It is not coincidental. This is a very demanding sport in which we are forced to play more and more weeks and you are very exposed. It doesn’t surprise me. I am very sad about Garbiñe because for me she has been a reference; I loved how she played and I wanted to be like her. I would really like her to be here now, with us, because I think we could do anything with a team like that, but things are what they are. I see her very happy and enjoying herself, something that didn’t happen when she played; In the end, she is a player who has achieved absolutely everything, the best Spanish player along with Arantxa and Conchita, so she has earned the right to do whatever she wants. If they understand it well, and if not, also.
Q. In Cancún, where the Masters Cup was held, the tennis players have raised their voices and publicly demanded changes. Do you agree?
R. The players are not happy. We have a group [de WhatsApp] in which we spoke to see if we can change things in the WTA, because it can be improved. They are forcing us to play more and longer tournaments, and in the end we are in a cycle from which we cannot get out. I think it’s very good that they complained, because when we don’t like something we should say so. I think that until now there was a lack of unity between us, and that is not the case now.
Q. He has always openly expressed his extra commitment to competing with Spain. Has that taken any toll?
R. I’m going to be super honest. I was born in the United States, my entire family is Catalan and I represent Spain. So, mentally I feel like a citizen of the world. I love learning about cultures and countries, and I am very open because I have been raised that way. When I play for Spain I get excited and get goosebumps, I love playing for my people, and my people are Spain, but so is Catalonia. At home I speak Catalan and my family is Catalan, I grew up there, my last names are from there… And when I think about the concept of home, is Begur; In the end, I have a mix and although I am a citizen of the world, my heart will always be in Girona. Ah! And I speak Catalan!
This is a business and perhaps the last bag I carry on the street is more interesting than my injury. Sell more
Q. He says it because of the slip he had in his day… By saying that it was not a language. How many sticks have you fallen?
R. Many have fallen on me, and I think that in Catalonia there is too much tension. It makes me a little sad. People are a bit radical and I think they are very sensitive about this issue, so I can understand it. I could make a mistake, but I’m human. I have always dedicated myself to sports, so a detail like this may escape me; I’m a realist, I don’t know everything… I had such a bad time that it took me a year to return home, and for me that has been very hard. I had a very bad time, very close to those years in which I had so many problems [por una depresión].
Q. Do you manage criticism on social networks better?
R. I don’t want to say that it happens completely, but I’m dealing with it very well. If I ever respond to something it is because many things are invented. But I’m very calm, I handle it differently. With indifference. I hold back a lot, because sometimes I see news about myself that I don’t even know, so I say to myself: ‘Am I saying something or not?’. If I finally say it, it is because I have previously held back five or six times.
Q. In closing, what can we expect from you heading into 2024 and what do you expect from yourself?
R. Be calm, little by little; This is a long process. I don’t know how this injury will respond, but I expect a lot from myself because I am very demanding. I only think about getting back to the level I was at before getting injured and the players I have in mind all the time are the top ten; I want to play against them. I want to feel like I’m there because I’ve always wanted to be the best. My mentality has always been like this.
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