Paula Badosa reveals she admired Maria Sharapova’s tennis a lot when growing up but admits she absolutely wasn’t ready to be labeled the next Sharapova.
During her junior career, the Spaniard achieved some pretty nice things, with the most notable one being her 2015 French Open girls’ singles title.
Due to her height but also a great predisposition to have a big game and be a very successful big-hitter, it didn’t take long before the 2015 French Open junior champion started being compared to the former world No. 1.
“Yes, she was when I grew up and as I said, it’s not all the game that she was playing, it was what she was going like above tennis,” Badosa told Caroline Garcia during her appearance on the Frenchwoman’s Tennis Insider Club podcast.
“She had a different mindset of being an athlete but more than that. So that’s something that I really liked about her and was very inspiring.”
Badosa: I was losing while people expected me to be the next Sharapova
After a successful junior career, the current four-time WTA champion didn’t have an easy transition to the pro circuit.
And those massive expectations and pressure played a role.
It all resulted in Badosa falling into a very dark place and battling depression and anxiety because her pro career wasn’t progressing as expected or targeted.
“I went through depression and I had mental health problems. Because I was 18, I was a very good junior, but then the step of going to the pro was not easy,” the 27-year-old added.
“You start losing, and people expect you to be the next Sharapova. They wondered why I wasn’t in the Top 10 yet, but I wasn’t even in the Top 100 at that moment.
“The expectations were super high, but my level and mental capacity weren’t ready for that.”
Paula Badosa© Tennis Insider Club – YouTube
Fortunately, Badosa was able to overcome those issues and make a nice career for herself.
Now, she is a WTA 1000 champion – recently made her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open – and has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the world.
Also, she is the top-ranked Spanish female tennis player with her current ranking of No. 10.
Tennis World USA