It's incredible how quickly life can flip as a professional athlete. To belong in the upper echelons of any sport, plenty of players have talent, but what about the drive, the dedication, the hunger to separate from the rest?
For Paula Badosa, the Spaniard reached the peak as world No. 2 in April 2022 and then wrestled with life at the top with the swirling pressure and expectations gunning for the greatest prizes.
The 26-year-old had this all snatched away in the last five months of the 2023 campaign, with a lower back stress fracture making life on and off the court agonizing.
Badosa made a very impressive comeback to the Tour in 2024, for example reaching the Australian Open third round in January. Still the back pain caused almighty problems.
By the end of April, disillusioned and without a solution, Badosa considered quitting, which is not a word in her usual vocabulary.
"The low point for me was at the middle of the season. It was really bad… There were moments, especially after Madrid, that I didn't know what to do," stated the world No. 29.
"In my mind I was thinking, 'maybe I should quit because if I'm not in the highest level, I don't want to play this sport.' I didn't want to be in the ranking I was in that moment. For me it doesn't make sense. That's how I am as my personality. So, if I'm not on the top or in the best players in the world, I don't want to play this sport," she said.
“I think the process was good. I was working well, but I just needed time and patience."
Around the time of that "low," Badosa sank to world No. 140 in May, just before Roland-Garros, where she managed to reach the Last 32.
"I wasn't finding the solution, but I had no other option than to be with my team, stick with them, trust the process as we say,” she said. “I think the process was good. I was working well, but I just needed time and patience."
Gradually, the back was "responding well" and with an abundance of patience and perseverance earning inroads in terms of results, Badosa felt a switch in her momentum, which was exemplified by a Round of 16 spot at Wimbledon in July.
"You start to believe in yourself… I think I lost very close matches there, but the level was there," Badosa said. "Well, finally here in the U.S. swing I could prove it. I think all my work paid off."
It certainly has paid off. Badosa lifted a trophy for the first time in two years earlier this month in Washington with victories over five Top 100 talents–including two major champions in the shape of Sofia Kenin and Emma Raducanu. A fortnight later at the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, she outmaneuvered four Top 50 talents, only denied glory by Jessica Pegula in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 final.
That “process” has continued over at Flushing Meadows, bursting into life on Friday in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Badosa posted on social media "FIGHT FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vamos," having saved match point in a scintillating 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(8) fightback over qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
"I think I almost had a heart attack there. It was a really tough match. She was playing very high level," stated the Spaniard, into her maiden fourth round in New York. "I fought through it."
"It means so much and after what I've been through the last year, for me it's very special to already be on this level."
Fight has been the name of the game for Badosa in the past 12 months. With all the doubts, excruciating pain, mixed bag of results, the undulation in feelings, Badosa has been able to step back and take in this ride from a wider view.
"It's a mix. Just sometimes I'm on the court and I just look up. I'm like, 'Whoa, this is beautiful,'" she mused. "Also, I'm so competitive. I just want to win, win, win, win and be in the last round. So sometimes I don't appreciate it that much, but still, I think I do it a little bit more than before my injury.
"It's nice. I think what changed also is that I connect more with the fans and with the crowd,” Badosa continued. “Before maybe I was closing myself in a shell, and now I just try to find help from there. I think we have a nice connection and it's cool."
The fight and the crowd connection will continue into her maiden fourth round in New York–the city where Badosa was born–over the net from world No. 80 Wang Yafan, who conquered three-time US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka in three sets on Friday.
Badosa has moved from looming doubts and retirement conversations to a new career milestone in just a matter of four months.
"It means so much and after what I've been through the last year, for me it's very special to already be on this level," she said. "At the beginning of the year I was obsessed. I wanted to do the comeback of the year, no matter what.
"I think I'm in a good moment now, and I'm very happy that I can prove all this again and that I'm playing maybe at one of the best levels of my career. I'm back at the top."
