Paula Badosa

Badosa began her journey in tennis in 2012 at the tender age of 14. It took a couple of years but the Spaniard won her first title in February 2014 at the Grade-1 Mediterranee Avenir in Casablanca. As far as her career in the Grand Slams as a junior goes, it is something she can be quite proud of. At the 2014 French Open, Badosa went all the way to the quarter-finals in both the singles and doubles categories. The Spaniard would then participate at the Wimbledon Championships that season and was in the last eight yet again. Her first taste of Grand Slam success came in 2015 when she won the girls’ singles title at Roland Garros. Badosa finished her junior career with a career-high ranking of eighth.

Despite having an outstanding career as a junior, it took Badosa quite a while to make her mark after turning professional. However, she did it with quite the aplomb. In May, 2021, she reached the semi-final of the prestigious Madrid Open, becoming the first Spanish woman to ever do so. Shortly after, she won her first WTA title at the Serbian Open. Badosa defeated seventh seed Rebecca Peterson in the semis and was crowned champion after Ana Konjuh had to retire due to injury in the final. If there were any doubts regarding Badosa’s credibility as champion, she put them to rest at that year’s French Open.

At the 2021 Roland Garros, the Spaniard was seeded 33rd. No one expected her to put in an eye-catching display but that is exactly what Badosa did. She defeated the likes of Lauren Davis, Danka Kovinic, Ana Bogdan and Marketa Vondrousova to make it as far as the quarter-final. She might have failed to beat Tamara Zidansek in the last eight, but her fairy tale run was heeded by the tennis world. Then came the 2021 Indian Wells Masters, which saw Badosa play her best tennis yet. She faced two-time champion and veteran Victoria Azarenka in the final and after a nail-biting three-hour long match, the Spaniard had her hands held up high as the champion of the WTA 1000 competition. Till date, it is considered to be her greatest feat. Badosa’s third career title came at the 2022 Sydney Open where she beat Barbora Krejcikova in the final. She achieved her career best ranking of second later that year after making it through to the semi-final of the Stuttgart Open.

Josep Badosa and Mireira Gibert, the player’s parents, were in Manhattan when she was born. But when she and her parents moved to Barcelona at the age of 7, she made the decision to pursue tennis. As a result of her parents’ engagement in the fashion industry, Badosa considered modelling. But she made the decision to continue playing tennis. From 2011 until 2014, Badosa travelled to Valencia to work on her game. She speaks various languages with ease now that we know more about her. She is fluent in French, English, Spanish, and Catalan.

Badosa’s net worth has climbed to around USD 5 million thanks to her outstanding 2021 season, during which she broke into the Top-10, won two championships, and made her WTA Finals debut. With her constant performance, the Spaniard has become one of the most in-demand WTA players. Paula has claimed three victories throughout her career, one of which was a WTA 1000 title at Indian Wells in the 2021 campaign. Her third career victory came at the WTA-500 Sydney International in 2022.