Iga Swiatek had some kind words for home favorite Paula Badosa at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals as the Polish tennis star applauded the Spaniard for not quitting after a major setback and still doing her best to accomplish her dreams despite battling a chronic issue.
After injuring her back in 2023 May and playing just one tournament in the remainder of that season because her recovery wasn’t going as planned, it didn’t get any better for the 26-year-old at the start of 2024. While the Spanish tennis player managed to kick off her comeback at the start of this season, her back kept causing her problems.
Then in March, Badosa was told by the doctors that it was a chronic thing and that it would never go away and she was even advised to end her career. At the time, the four-time WTA champion admitted that she was “scared” and that she was hoping to avoid the worst-case scenario and at least try to play for another three to four years.
And so far, her new therapy has gone well and that led to the former world No. 2 finding some rhythm and consistency. After winning the WTA 500 tournament in Washington – which was her first title in two and a half years – the Spaniard made three more semifinals and she was also a quarterfinalist at the US Open. Now, she is ranked at No. 12 and close to returning inside the top-10.
On Wednesday, Spain will take on Poland at the BJK Cup Finals in Malaga. Ahead of the tie, local reporters asked Swiatek about her probable meeting with Badosa and if she thinks the Spaniard could still be a top player.
“For sure, you know, Paula has the game and the motivation to do that. I was actually, you know, looking at her journey, and I was kind of worried if she was going to be able to come back, because obviously her injuries weren’t easy and smooth, and sometimes she tried but it wasn’t working,” Swiatek said.
“So honestly, I was super happy to see her back playing her tennis on these tournaments, on US Open, you know, and plenty of others. Yeah, she’s a really, really nice person, and I felt like, you know, she’s really pushing to be back. Anybody who has this kind of grit and determination, you know, deserves to be there. Hopefully she’s gonna continue that. But we’ll see this week. I’m probably going to focus on myself, and hopefully she’s not going to play that well (smiling). We’ll see.”
Paula Badosa© Ningbo Open/Instagram – Fair Use
Badosa responds to Swiatek
“Thank you Iga, you are great as always,” the Spanish tennis star said in her response after reading about what the 23-year-old Pole had to say about her.
Thank you Iga 🫶 you are great as always.
— Paula Badosa (@paulabadosa) November 11, 2024
After suffering multiple setbacks in her recovery and constantly finding herself sidelined again, doubts started to creep in the 26-year-old’s mind. And after she received the chronic diagnosis in March, her fears and concerns only got bigger.
But then in early August, Badosa made it all the way on the hard courts of Washington. Afterward, she couldn’t hide her happiness and even remarked that she “felt like an athlete again.”
“One year ago I was on the couch, so it’s a big difference now. Now I’m an athlete again (smiling). I mean, winning a title after two years… What means a lot is I played four finals and I won the four of them. That’s what I had on my mind today also in the third set. I’m like, ‘Paula, you’re capable of doing this in another final.’ That would push me a lot today,” the former world No. 2 said.
At the time, Badosa also confessed that there were moments when she didn’t know what to do next.
“it’s the first thing I did on court. I called my family and Stefanos, of course, because I know they’re always there for me. They’ve been in the tough moments. They’ve seen me very, very down this last year. I wanted to live the moments with them because of course without them I wouldn’t be here because they support me every day, 24/7. There was moments that I didn’t know what to do with my career. They were there. I knew they were following, they were watching the match, so I wanted to call them,” she added.
If Badosa manages to keep her health and avoid major injury issues, she could possibly attack the top-10 in early 2025 and maybe even get herself into contention for a deep Australian Open run.