“She cried on the court” Paula Badosa reveals horrific details about Iga Swiatek’s struggles in 2021
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Paula Badosa and Iga Swiatek
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has been undoubtedly the best player of the season so far on the WTA Tour. The first player with 30 wins for the season on the Tour, Iga reached the semi-finals of the 2022 Australian Open and then won 4 consecutive titles which include three WTA-1000 titles in Qatar, the Sunshine Double and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, a WTA-500 event.
Iga’s rise and Ash Barty’s sudden retirement saw the 20-year old Pole take the top spot in the WTA rankings deservedly and she has proved again and again why she is the top-ranked player. The merry this season was not there in the 2021 season and it had a massive impact on her according to the newly promoted World No. 2 Paula Badosa.
Swiatek made her name in the tennis world by winning the 2020 French Open becoming the youngest in over 2 decades to claim the title in Roland Garros. With a lot of expectations from her in the 2021 season, it did not turn out to be great as she had only two titles with the 2021 Italian Open being her biggest title. Iga however has made a massive turnaround in the 2022 season.
Badosa, who lost in the semi-finals of the 2022 Stuttgart Open recently spoke with WTA Insider on dealing with the pressure on the Tour as a player starts rising in the rankings. The interview was held after Badosa won a close match in the quarter-finals against Ons Jabeur in what was a nail-biting battle between the two in-form players.
“I was talking with my coach about Iga Swiatek because I remember last year she was suffering a lot with every match. I remember seeing her crying on the court. But at the beginning of this year, I was talking to my coach and I said I totally understand now what she’s feeling. Because at the beginning I didn’t know what was happening,” said Badosa.
“You are all alone” Paula Badosa draws a parallel to Iga Swiatek
Badosa‘s rise in the rankings has been phenomenal. She was ranked 62nd in the world last year in April and she is now the 2nd highest-ranked player on the WTA Tour. A late charge in the last season also saw her make her way to the semi-finals of the 2021 WTA Finals.
“This happens to me now. I wanted to cry in the third set today. There’s so much pressure on you and at the end of the day, you’re all alone on the court. It’s a very mental game. But I’m happy I’m getting through it. A lot of people are maybe used to seeing me winning matches, but it’s not a normal thing. Mentally, it’s changed. I feel pressure, I feel expectations like you have to do a minimum of results to have people feel happy and calm,” added Badosa during the interview after her win over Jabeur.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)