Badosa is no stranger to battling challenges and adversity.
Paula Badosa, 26, is calling on everyone to further normalize mental health topics and support in professional sports as the Spanish tennis player says she “suffered a lot” before learning how to deal with certain things in a healthier way.
When Badosa was just starting her career, she was early on labeled as “the next Maria Sharapova” because of her height and style of tennis. Also, Badosa winning the 2015 French Open girls’ singles title contributed to her being compared to Sharapova because the expectation was that she would be contending for Slams in pro tennis as well.
But when Badosa started her pro journey and good results didn’t instantly come, she started battling depression and anxiety.
“I have suffered a lot with expectations and pressures. I have been very hard on myself. I needed to learn to enjoy, because before I only saw the top, the top and the top, achieving that goal, and to get there you need to do the journey well. That has been my great improvement, in addition to the hard work I am doing every day,” Badosa told Elle
After falling into a very dark place, Badosa struggled for some time before seeking professional help. Now, the 26-year-old Spaniard says “training mind” is just as important as working on the game and body.
“We go to the gym to train our bodies, but why can’t we go to a psychologist to train our minds? We have to normalize this and see that an athlete is just another human being: they are afraid, nervous, suffer, their body fails them, their emotions too, they get exhausted… We are not robots. We have to stop, reflect, breathe and recharge our batteries,” Badosa said.
Badosa on how she deals with her current situation
Last year, Badosa sustained a back injury – which turned out to be the most serious injury of her career since she played just one tournament in the second part of the 2023 season. While the former world No. 2 managed to return to action at the start of this season, her back issues didn’t go away.
And in March, Badosa was told by the doctor that her injury was chronic. When making that revelation, the 26-year-old also said she was undergoing new treatment but that there were no guarantees and that she would be happy if she managed to play for another three or four years.
For Badosa, the diagnosis was tough but she has learned one thing – not to stress herself out over something she cannot control.
“I have learned to be very patient and to accept the things that I cannot control, such as an injury of this magnitude. The most important learning has been to be strong, to overcome myself every day and to accept being okay with what I cannot control, which is a lot in this sport. Something that also helps me in life. What makes me fight every day is the passion for what I do. However, although I do not feel older, understand me, there is a part of me that is exhausted from overcoming one stone after another on the road,” Badosa said.
Badosa on defining herself ‘brave’
Since Badosa is now dealing with a chronic issue, she is aware that there are no guarantees. But over the last couple of months, she has noted several times that she won’t simply quit and that she will do her best to prolong her career and make some notable results.
Now, Badosa is defining herself as “brave” and suggests that going through challenges and adversity is also a vital part of achieving success.
“When they ask me how I would define myself, I say ‘brave’. If you don’t learn to lose, it’s difficult to win. Even though it annoys me, it’s where I put the most emphasis and you have to have your head trained for that moment. The great champions have lost many times. I know that positive things can be taken from failure and that each match is a new opportunity, however, it is one of the things that has been hardest for me to understand. I try to do the best I can, and there are days when I do well, and others when I do badly, like any person in their job,” Badosa explained.
Meanwhile, Badosa is coming off a solid Wimbledon run as she made the round-of-16 at The Championships earlier this month. Since Badosa decided to skip the Paris Olympics, she is expected to be back in action at the start of the North American hard-court swing.
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