The Spanish tennis player was very happy after her victory against Maria Sakkari in Charleston, which brings her back closer to the top 100 of the WTA ranking.
Paula Badosa has taken a giant step in her confidence to climb the rankings and recover her best level with an important victory against Maria Sakkari to secure her spot in the round of 16 at the WTA 500 in Charleston 2026. After the match, the Spanish tennis player analyzed the great level she displayed and the inspiration that Rafael Nadal is to her when playing on clay.
Badosa needs to achieve good results to re-enter the top 100 and avoid having to play the qualifying rounds for Roland Garros, her main short-term goal. She is currently ranked 102nd, and one more victory would give her that opportunity. However, beyond that, she emphasized the importance of playing matches like these, where she proves to herself that she can regain her past form and serve as an example for all those people who, like her, are fighting for something in life.
Paula Badosa’s Press Conference After Beating Maria Sakkari in Charleston
Performance against Sakkari
I am very happy with my level. It had been a long time since I was able to compete in this way, especially considering how Maria started. She played good tennis, but I fought for it, so I am very pleased with my performance today. It gives me confidence to know once again that I can come back, that I have the level, that I can compete against these players who can make incredible shots, and I can fight for it again. I felt I had lost that because I hadn’t found it this year. I think this is one of the first matches where I have found that again.
Role of her team
Mentally, I think I am overcoming a lot of obstacles, in some way. I am very proud of this match. I have always said that I have always wanted a team that is like a family in some way, and in my case, I have this wonderful closeness with them, and they are my family. I know tennis is an individual sport, but I do everything with them all day long. And for me, it was a bit tough at the beginning of my career. I didn’t understand much why I had to do everything with them and at the moment of the match, I don’t have them to help me in some way.
I always told them that when it is match time, I also want that support, and I want to feel them close to me, and they help me a lot. They are always talking to me because I want to hear their voice constantly, because if not, I have only my voice, and sometimes it’s difficult. So yes, but I have a very close relationship with them.
Support from the public for her situation
I feel the support of the people a lot. I never did it for that, but I think many people feel very connected to my story, and that is perhaps why they follow me more. I expressed it publicly, and I think I have been able to help people with that because maybe people see me playing and see the good part of it, but I want to show them that you can also fail and still overcome it and be able to rise. When you are in that moment of doubt, we all go through that, and you can still come back, and I think I showed it a couple of years ago and it’s something I want to show now.
Success on clay
Clay is more physical but also more tactical, so you have to think a lot, and I believe, in my case, automatically when I arrive on this surface, it’s very easy for me. I know a bit about the plan I have to play here because I have trained many times on clay, especially in Spain, and they have a way of playing that I think is very useful. Well, you have seen Rafa Nadal for so many years; he is a great inspiration for me in that sense. Honestly, I believe we have a good mentality for clay.
Changes in the women’s circuit
I feel a big difference, and I have talked a lot about it. One of the things I love most is watching and analyzing tennis. I have had a lot of time now, and I have seen a big difference from 2020 to 2023, let’s say. Now in the last few years, I think the pace at which we were playing was a bit slower, although at the same time, I feel I had to keep evolving. Most of us also work with statistics and analytics, so I ask.
I want to know the pace of how I was playing a couple of years ago and now, and there are differences. Not just with me, with everyone, but you can see that you are constantly being pushed, especially the younger ones. Now everything is much faster, and maybe a bit less tactical because people are going for winners more, and we have less time to think. Everyone is serving great, returning great, hitting hard, and making winners.
Return of the WTA Finals to Guadalajara
It has great potential. I was very fortunate to have played in that year because honestly, Mexico is great in that sense. The people are so passionate, and the atmosphere was incredible, one of the best I remember. In that tournament, the best players in the world come together, so for me, it must be a crazy event, and I hope they can do it in the best possible place. For me, the goal is to play it. I don’t care where, but to play it. However, for me, it is very important that it has a great, great audience because that is what the players deserve.