Paula Badosa: The Spanish tennis sensation's difficult road to stardom

Spanish tennis sensation Paula Badosa has won her fourth WTA title following victory against Marie Bouzkova in the Washington Open final on Sunday, the 4th of August.

Badosa, whose career has featured numerous ups and downs, told reporters following her victory, "One year ago, I was on the couch, so it’s a big difference now. I’m an athlete again… winning a title after two years," per Tennis Tonic.

Badosa's victory saw the Spaniard react with emotion, in part due to the victory, but in part due to the journey that led her there, let's take a look at her story.

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For those who don't know, Paula Badosa has become one of the biggest names in women's tennis in recent years, winning multiple events on the WTA tour and reaching the latter stages of various Grand Slams, let's take a look at her story.

Badosa has Spanish nationality, but was born in Manhattan, New York, to Mireia Gibert Baró and Josep Badosa Codolar, per 20minutos.

She moved to Barcelona with her family when she was seven and started playing tennis in the Catalan capital.

Her parents reportedly work in fashion and have a shop in Begur, Girona.

Badosa herself wanted to be a model as a young girl, but ended up becoming a tennis player, according to the Spanish publication Visibilitas.

She is multilingual and is fluent is English, Spanish and Catalan.

Badosa took her first steps into the world of tennis at the Club Tennis d'Aro in Platja d'Aro, per El periodico de Espana.

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As a junior, she showed great promise and won the French Open title in 2015.

She turned pro that same year, winning her first matches in the WTA Tour.

In 2019, she made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, where she lost in the first round to Kimberly Birrell, per the WTA website.

She gradually climbed the rankings, entering the top 100 that same year.

In 2020, she made her Grand Slam breakthrough by reaching the round of 16 of the French Open.

The following year, she claimed her first WTA title, winning the Serbia Open after Ana Konjuh had to retire in the final, per the WTA.

Badosa got her first taste of victory and wanted more. In 2021, she took the next step in her career by reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open, her best Grand Slam result to date.

This would be the build-up to her biggest WTA tournament win, when she triumphed in Indian Wells, beating Belarusian Victoria Azarenka.

This enabled Badosa to break into the top 10 for the first time in her career and qualify for the 2021 WTA Finals, where she reached the semi-finals.

In 2022, Badosa won her third career title with victory in Sydney.

After some good performances that year, she climbed to world No. 2, her best career ranking to date, per the WTA.

Following that success, Badosa struggled to stay in the top 10 and finished 2022 ranked world No. 13.

In 2023, she played in just one major (Wimbledon) due to injuries, and dropped to world No. 52 in September of the same year.

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Wimbledon 2024 has seen Badosa reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in two years, per The Daily Express, despite battling through pain and a doctor's recommendation to retire with an injury following a series of back-related injuries

During her career, Badosa has opened up about her problems with depression and anxiety, caused by the high expectations she had to live up to from an early age.

"They were like, I'm the next Maria Sharapova. I was very young and I wasn't prepared to listen to all that. I was super big, a lot of expectations and pressure. People watching me wherever I play and expecting me to win every match was too much for me," she said in the WTA series 'The Real Me'.

"I remember, a few years I had depression and a lot of anxiety. I was dealing with a lot of mental health issues. My head wasn't prepared to listen to all those things and compete," she continued.

Badosa has also made headlines for her private life.

Until March 2023, she had a relationship with Cuban model and actor Juan Betancourt.

She then began a relationship with Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Badosa also featured in the Netflix series 'Break Point'.

Although she has been through a difficult period in her career, the future remains bright for Badosa who, at 25, will be looking to return to the top.

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