Not for the first time in a topsy-turvy 12 months, Paula Badosa is reaping rich rewards for putting her faith in the unknown.
Where most players opted for balmy beachside breaks ahead of a return to the heavy off-season grind, the Spaniard and her boyfriend, Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas, headed to the Nordic north to the frozen landscapes of an Icelandic winter.
A holiday where the outside temperatures hovered around –12C was certainly a left-of-field choice, one which the resurgent world No.12 was not so initially sure about.
“It was a crazy experience. It was my first time in cold weather,” Badosa told brisbaneinternational.com.au. “At the beginning I was a little bit like, ‘I don’t think this is going to work, where are you taking me?’, but finally when I arrived there it was an amazing experience, an adventure, amazing landscapes.
“Of course, it was cold weather, but I liked it, it was super different. We’re used to the warm weather, but I think at the end it was worth it.”
Hola hola 🥶🤍❄️ pic.twitter.com/TiTnr7qacg
— Paula Badosa (@paulabadosa) November 21, 2024
Badosa made a winning Brisbane International debut before a packed Show Court 2 crowd on Sunday in a doubles match alongside good friend and fellow former singles world No.2 Ons Jabeur.
Beyond their close bond off court, Badosa was able to relate to the Tunisian’s struggles with injury and motivation as both looked to continue their respective comebacks.
“She’s one of my closest friends,” Badosa said. “We were just practising here, speaking the weeks before, let’s like see how we feel and yesterday in practice, let’s try to play a few more matches. It’s the beginning of the year so it’s always helpful for us and we also have great chemistry on the court.
“It’s never easy when you’re maybe not mentally at your 100 per cent. We all go through that during the year. To have that support from her and her having it from my side, players who’ve been on the top and have experienced so many things in our careers, it’s great to have that mutual support.”
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The 27-year-old opened her singles campaign with a three-set defeat to Armenian Elina Avanesyan on New Year’s Eve, but there were positives to be drawn.
It was the fourth seed’s first singles outing since she took Iga Swiatek to three sets in Spain’s Billie Jean King Cup defeat to Poland in November.
Only a month before, she retired with illness during her Ningbo Open semifinal against Daria Kasatkina and called time on her season – barring her appearance on home soil in Spanish colours – following the physical and mental toll of her return from a string of back stress fractures.
“The back is great now, but you never know. There are some days it’s worse than others, so I have to control it a bit,” she said. “For the moment it’s responding pretty well. I decided to finish up there and not to continue to Tokyo.
“I know I was maybe chasing to go to WTA Finals, at least as a reserve, but it wasn’t worth it in that moment for me mentally. I wanted to prioritise myself and especially when you’ve been there of course you have the goal to be there again, but I think right now it’s to be healthy, to be happy and I think when that comes along my level raises.”
Morning vs Night 🏃♀️💦🍣🥢
Hello @BrisbaneTennis nice to be back in Australia 🇦🇺🦘🫶 pic.twitter.com/QEoqQwYiik
— Paula Badosa (@paulabadosa) December 28, 2024
Badosa’s 2024 and beyond could all have looked markedly different had she followed doctors’ initial advice that her playing days were numbered.
Even as recently as May she was on the cusp of pulling the pin on her career once and for all, frustrated she was nowhere near the level she needed to be and languishing at world No.140.
It was not until the US hard-court swing that her level and the subsequent results improved enough to convince her otherwise.
Her first title in more than two years came at the WTA 500 event in Washington in August before her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2021 at the US Open and semifinals in Beijing and Ningbo.
“I think it was a little bit the key. I was playing well before, but I needed a big title, I needed a result,” she said. “I think since Washington I’ve been winning so many matches and finally, maybe it’s not the best thing to say, but you want to prove yourself and you sometimes need results to show that, so I think that made me believe that I could be back at the top again.”
The WTA Comeback Player of the Year, Badosa now stands on the verge of a top-10 return – further validation that trusting her instincts and taking a leap of faith is well worth her while.