Being the torch bearer for the home players is a sizeable load to carry on one’s shoulders. Already one of the best-loved players among fans at the Mutua Madrid Open, with a versatile game and the personality to connect perfectly with the spectators, the Catalonian will be looking to leave an indelible mark within the walls of the Manolo Santana Stadium. Lifting the trophy in the Spanish capital to become the first home player to achieve glory in the competition would be an historic moment for the Caja Magica. Might 2025 be her year?
Paula has already proven her prowess at the Madrid WTA 1000. Her charge to the semi-finals in the 2021 season, one step away from the title bout, continues to be the best performance of a home player in the women’s singles event. Her breakthrough, at just 23 years of age, which made her one of Spain’s most feared players, continues to be remembered with particular affection by the Madrid fans. That connection with the biggest tournaments catapulted Badosa to the heights of world No. 2 and she became one of the most recognisable faces on tour.
The 2025 edition of the event will be a particularly enticing one for Paula. Not only will it be a return to Madrid, it will also be a chance for professional redemption in front of her fans.
From Madrid to heaven
Hers has been a career littered with challenges, a yearning to succeed the one constant thread running through it, and Paula endured a moment at last year’s tournament she will not have forgotten. Plagued by a back injury that had her career hanging in the balance, the Spaniard reached a low before completing her formidable comeback. A fall in the first round, which might have unsettled a lesser player, only bolstered her determination. Her start to the 2025 season has been revealing; reaching her first Grand Slam semi-finals and breaking back into the world’s Top 10, she is still as passionate about achieving her goals as ever. One of those goals will surely be adding her name to the winners’ circle at the Mutua Madrid Open this fortnight.
At 27 years of age, and embarking on her ninth appearance at the event, Paula will arrive in the Caja Magica with experience firmly on her side. Her bank of memories on the Spanish clay will be key to dealing with the most intense moments in the competition. Clashes with great players such as Ashleigh Barty, Simona Halep, Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic, provide the meat and bones to Badosa’s story at the Madrid WTA 1000, a stage on which she would dearly love to taste glory. The player from Begur is back at her country’s biggest event having won back the respect of the locker room, a powerful thing to have on your side as this year’s event approaches.
A journey with great memories
From her first visit to the tournament over a decade ago, when she was just a teenager with her entire career ahead of her, to her arrival in 2025, now consolidated as one of the biggest names in Spanish women’s sport, Paula’s approach to the tournament has always been faultless. A perfect blend of passion, determination, and hunger to achieve the ultimate in front of her own people.
“I came here for the first time in 2015, I must have been 17. To me, it has always been a different tournament, special and important”, remembered Badosa in previous seasons, underlining the huge significance she places on the Madrid event. “Playing at home, in front of my family and my people, I always want to play my best level. I’ve always tried to give 100% at the tournament. My expectations here are to try and enjoy it as much as possible”.
A former Junior French Open champion, lover of the clay season like few of her peers, Badosa must be bursting to get out onto the courts of the Caja Magica. It is a unique opportunity on the calendar and a key moment in her career.
Players such as Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez, Spain’s leading players over the last decade, regaled the Caja Magica with incredible stories season after season. Badosa has now taken the baton and carried it with aplomb, sprinkling her career with magic moments. At her best, the Catalonian has shown she is one of those players who is capable of competing against anyone. The Spanish capital appreciates a winning attitude, and the fans will be ready to carry her through thick and thin.
If the affection of the people can make a difference, then Badosa arrives in Madrid ready to play the best tennis of her career. The cheers, the words of support, and the roar of the fans all await Spain’s No. 1 in the Caja Magica. Let the fun begin!
