“At that moment I thought I was God”

Absent from Madrid, where he hoped to play until the last moment, the former world number 2 Paula Badosa remembered the time when he seemed to have everything in his feet and that everything would be simple in her career.

“It may be surprising, but it happened to me when I was a junior, when I won Roland Garros in 2015. People started calling me” New Sharapova “, she was my idol and, above all, an elegant person,” the Spanish player recalled.

Paula Badosa: “Now I am ashamed that I was so”

“I was thinking then: “It's super easy, next year I will be in the top 10, a lot of sponsors will come.” At that moment I thought I was God, that's why it was so hard for me to jump to the professional career“, She detailed about what she felt when she was only 17 and a half.

What happened? “I did not accept anything, my head was not right, I was a very competitive person and I frustrated very quickly. I did not fight in the matches, I entered a very toxic circle, all the people around me were sweetening a lot. They raised me to a level that did not exist, a mistake I failed because I did not understand certain things. Then I came to depression and anxiety, I saw that I did not reach my goals, but it was another reality. Now I am ashamed that I was like that”She admitted in an interview for Eurosport Spain.

Paula Badosa with the champion trophy at Roland Garros Junior in 2015 Photo: Guliver/Gettyimages

“I got to learn a lot from that stage, in which I was not humble. I admit that in those years I was very smiling,” added Paula.

4 WTA titleshas Paula Badosa in track

Paula Badosa: “This is the part I would like to delete”

However, after he built his own career route, reaching the second position in the world in April 2025, he realized that he feels best when he worn the most normal. However, the world circuit involves more than playing tennis, participating in tournaments. What does it seem the most difficult to face it?

“How exposed we are, the fact that people judge us all the time. Maybe if you are an actress you know what you are exposed to, but if you are a sportsman, the truth is that you don't expect it. Being famous means going to galas, events, sponsors' meetings, dealing with many commitments. This is the part I would like to delete. I feel that my professional and personal life are totally linked, and because of the person I am with, but sometimes it is very difficult to manage, ”she elaborated, reminiscent of the relationship with Stefanos Tsitsipas, who brought both to the public attention.

Paula Badosa at Players Party of Beijing 2024 Photo: Guliver/Gettyimages

As for what follows strictly related to tennis, Badosa is facing big problems in the column, at the L4-L5 vertebra.

“It is a chronic lesion. Only this time it is different, I still keep the pain on the right side, but now it comes and touches my nerve. With that I can not even lead a normal life,” she explained for the same source.

Paula Badosa: “I will continue with infiltration”

The exact moment he was injured was during the Miami tournament. “There I received the hard blow, the whip. Since then I have been almost four weeks without being able to do anything, neither tennis nor normal life. In the first days spent at Monaco, I couldn't even watch TV because I couldn't find a position to sit down without hurting me“She detailed.

“The first infiltration did not help me absolutely, I was desperate, I was very sorry. The second stopped to hurt, allowed me to lead a normal life, then I gradually started to train and go to the gym,” added Paula.

Paula Badosa, a career pressed by photo injuries: Guliver/Gettyimages

“I have no choice, I am very stubborn. Doctors should tell me if they want to withdraw … and I'm in daily contact with them. I said to them many times: Until you operate me and there is no solution, I will continue with infiltration, even if I know how bad and harmful they are for my body“, He said.

The fact that I have such a strong character helped me to accept this over time, I know I will withdraw young, and the next day I will go directly to the operating room – Paula Badosa