Paula Badosa admits she thought she was at the end just 10 months ago but didn't want to quit before giving tennis at least one final try.
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After sustaining a back injury during the 2023 Rome Open, the Spanish tennis player was told last spring by the doctors that her issue was a chronic one and she was advised to end her career.
Since it was constantly causing her to retire from matches or prevent her from being at her best and ultimately negatively impacted her results,
And after picking up a disappointing first-round exit in front of her home fans in Madrid last April, Badosa was at her lowest.
"It was really tough. For me, some days I think about it, I just like to go back with my thoughts and moments and thinking about it its tough for me even to think about it because it was very painful," the 27-year-old The National.
Badosa: I was close to retiring
Around that time, the Spaniard decided to change her medical team and also try some different treatments.
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That ended up working and she has been one of the best players in the game since the second half of 2024.
"I was close, I was close to retirement," Badosa admitted.
What kept me going is that I always had that faith in myself of keep believing, like just give it one more try, one more try. And I think also what kept me going was the passion I have for tennis. I love it.
So that was like, okay, just give your 100 per cent until the end of the year, lets see if thats possible also because of the back."
In August, the Spanish tennis star won Washington - that was her first title since 2022 January.
Also, she has since made her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open and also returned to the top-10 for the first time since 2022.
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This week, Badosaplayedher first post-Australian Open tournament in Abu Dhabi, where she lost to Linda Noskova after a first-round bye.
