“You'll have to see me a few more years now!” Paula Badosa sets aside injury struggles in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI—The Kings Island amusement park serves as an ironic backdrop to Paula Badosa’s Cincinnati Open campaign: after an 18-month struggle with a career-threatening back injury, the former world No. 2 finally feels like she’s off the rollercoaster.

“There are some days I feel a little bit more stiff and I feel the pain, but I have good, a good feeling with physios next to me,” she smiled in her post-match press conference, glowing after a 6-2, 7-5 victory over American Peyton Stearns. “And for the moment, I don't feel it.”

There was a time when the injury was all-consuming for Badosa, who missed three of four major tournaments in 2023 and shut down her season last August in the hopes of healing her back for good. Instead, doctors prescribed a regimen of cortisone shots that began in the spring, dimming the prospects of a long career for a player who was only 26 years old.

“It really is a rollercoaster, and you wake up every day not knowing what is going to happen,” she told me after her first round of shots at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. “Emotionally, there have been ups and downs and it’s been tough for me lately.”

It was on clay that Badosa finally felt like herself again, pushing Coco Gauff to three sets at the Foro Italico and reaching the third round at Roland Garros. Opting out of further back treatments, she went one round better at Wimbledon for her best Grand Slam finish in two years, teeing her up to hit the ground running on hard courts.

“I'm an aggressive player, but I need my physical part,” she explained. “I think it's very important for me to feel strong, to feel that I can play tough matches, to feel that I can play long rallies also. So, once I felt that, I think it went straight to my mindset, to my mentality, and then when I feel strong in that area, I feel strong mentally, so I start to feel competitive again.”

I saw that, especially in Washington that I had tough matches. So that, for me, makes me relax a bit on the court and I can play more free. Paula Badosa

The Spaniard battled to her first WTA title in 32 months at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, defeating Marie Bouzkova in a three-set final that would have been unthinkable at the height of her injury. Her improved physicality was on display again Wednesday, helping her rally from a break down in the second set to knock out Stearns and book a second round against No. 13 seed Anna Kalinskaya.

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, shit, you cannot go to a third set because next day you're not going to be able to play because you're not ready for that,’ she recalled of her early-season mindset. “I had that moment [today] in the second set, but I remember thinking, ‘Oh, it's okay. You still have a third one. And it doesn't matter if you go to a battle there, because next day you will feel okay now.’ I saw that, especially in Washington that I had tough matches. So that, for me, makes me relax a bit on the court and I can play more free.”

Though her team continues to monitor her back, Badosa hasn’t had any cortisone shots since Paris, a welcome relief to the doctors who questioned how much longer she could compete professionally.

“They were expecting me to be okay, and we didn't find solutions in that moment,” said Badosa. “So, for them now it's a normal thing, and before it was they were surprised. For the moment it's positive.”

Back in range for a seed at the 2024 US Open, Badosa is eager to make up for lost time.

“You'll have to see me for a few more years now!”