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‘It’s a Dream Come True’ – Paula Badosa to Take Over as the WTA No. 2 in the Rankings
After weeks of struggle, Paula Badosa finally achieved the biggest feat of her career so far. A feat, which according to her, she had been trying to achieve for a long time. Yesterday, the 22nd of April, Paula Badosa beat her longtime friend, Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open, ensuring her new career-high ranking. With the win, Badosa has pushed down Barbora Krejcikova to become the new World No. 2.
Paula Badosa ascends to the No.2 spot in the WTA rankings
Following her win over Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals at Stuttgart, Badosa will ascend to the second spot in the WTA rankings when the new rankings will be released on Monday.
Like any other tennis player, it was Badosa’s goal for a long time. Opening up on how she overcame the ranking pressure during her match, Badosa confessed that she wanted to be in the position for a long time. She also confessed that it is a dream come true for her.
She said, “It was a goal and I really wanted to be in that position. For me, it’s a dream come true so I was really going after it. So I’m really happy that today I could do it and I could leave that mental block out of it from the match and I could play pretty well. I think I played a high-level match.”
Tennis – WTA Tour Finals – Panamerican Tennis Center, Guadalajara, Mexico – November 13, 2021 Spain’s Paula Badosa celebrates winning her group stage match against Greece’s Maria Sakkari REUTERS/Henry Romero
Every athlete has certain goals that they set for themselves. Opening up on her wait to reach the feat, Badosa recalled her Miami and Charleston campaign, admitting that she was aware of it for weeks.
“I was aware [I was close] for weeks, I’m not going to lie. In Charleston, I needed one more match: nothing. In Miami, one more match: I had to retire,” she said.
How did Badosa reach the semifinals of Stuttgart?
Being the second seed, Badosa received a bye in her opening round. In the second round, she prevailed over World No. 19, Elena Rybakina in a three-set battle.
Oct 17, 2021; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Paula Badosa (ESP) reacts after winning a point as she defeated Victoria Azarenka (BLR) in the womenÕs final of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Reaching the quarterfinals, she next played the 7th seed Ons Jabeur. In a titanic opening set, Badosa won the set in a thrilling tie-break 11-9. However, Ons made a quick comeback, dominating Badosa 6-1 in the second set. One set all, both players elevated their games, going toe-to-toe against each other. However, it was Badosa who won the set 6-3.
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She will next play 3rd seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.
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