Spanish tennis star Paula Badosa revealed she used to come to the French Open just so she could watch her idol Rafael Nadal in action.
Badosa, 24, is now one of the biggest names in the women’s game and a favorite for the French Open title.
Badosa is ranked at No. 3 in the world and she is hoping to potentially win her first Grand Slam in the next two weeks.
“Yeah, I was 10. I was just coming here almost to see Rafa, to be honest, because I’m a huge fan. He was my idol. But, yeah, I was seeing all the matches. But to be honest, I’m still a tennis fan, because I have been here a few days ago already, but I love to watch matches,” Badosa said, per Sportskeeda.
Badosa on dealing with the pressure and expectations
Badosa lifted her biggest title in late 2021, when she won a WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells.
Shortly after winning Indian Wells, Badosa broke into the top-10 for the first time in her career.
In late April, Badosa achieved a career-high ranking of No. 2 in the world.
Badosa is still adjusting to the new found fame and the expectation that comes along with being one of the best players in the world.
“Of course expectations have been having from the beginning of the year, because I’m a top-10 player. So you always have that. Of course having expectations and maybe not doing well in that tournament, you feel more pressure,” she said.
In Madrid, the pressure got the better of Badosa as she suffered a 6-3 6-1 loss to Simona Halep in the second round.
“It’s a tough situation that I’m learning. I just want to, yeah, try to manage as much as I can these kind of things, because everything is very new, so sometimes I get a little bit scared, and I feel that’s a little bit big for me,” Badosa added.
Badosa reached the French Open quarterfinal last year.