ROLAND GARROS

May 24, 2025

Paula Badosa

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: After having a good week last week in Strasbourg, that was probably good preparation for you coming into Roland Garros. Tell us how you feel.

PAULA BADOSA: I'm pretty happy with the performance. As you know, coming back always the toughest part is physically. I think I recovered pretty well after that match.

The goal was a little bit to play a long match. I had that against a very good player. I'm happy with more or less my level and looking forward for Monday here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Your post a few days ago, I think, I'm curious if you could tell us what the past few months have been like and what it took for you to get back to this stage?

PAULA BADOSA: It wasn't easy at all. It was a tough few months, especially because I think I was playing one of my best tennis. Before the injury when it happened in Mexico, I was feeling very well, physically, mentally.

Having to stop again, it was a completely different injury this time, and it was like constantly pain. So having normal life was tough for me. It's been tough, tough few months.

I wasn't expecting maybe having an injury like this again in the back, but now I'm feeling good. Just that physically I'm not where I want to be. I think it's normal. Maybe when we speak back again, I will be there, but now it's a process that I've been through that. It's not the best thing to go through, but I have to accept it and play with what I have.

Q. So are you approaching this tournament sort of like as one step in a process to get back into shape where you might want to be in a month or so? Is that where you are going in sort of with no expectations and just to be healthy and build things back? It is a Grand Slam. You've done great here before. Where is your head right now?

PAULA BADOSA: I have to be realistic. Of course, if I'm delusional and I want to dream, I'm like, well, I'm approaching this tournament same as Australian Open. No, that's not the reality. Maybe we speak again in Wimbledon, and that will be the reality, but right now it's not.

I just played one full match in the last two months and a half. The reality here is to play as many matches as possible. For me every minute on court now is very valuable. So it's just that and no expectations.

If I can play one match, good. If I can play three, great. For now the goal in French Open is not what it should be, but because I'm coming from an injury.

Q. When did you arrive in Paris? How many days did you rest or when you started practicing? Second part is, any thoughts on your first round match?

PAULA BADOSA: Well, I finished the day before in Strasbourg. I arrived yesterday. Today was my first hit here.

The conditions here, I always like them. I love to play in Paris. Yeah, I'm playing Monday, so I have one more day tomorrow.

The first round, well, as you all know, she's a great, great player. I respect her so much. Not for things she did on court, but especially also off court. I know she likes to play the big matches. It's where she plays her best game, so I'm expecting her best level on Monday.

Q. Was it a good thing that the injury was different to the one before? How did your past experiences with injury I guess affect you positive or negatively during this period?

PAULA BADOSA: Well, I don't know if it was good. It was different. Maybe no, because I have less experience on how to deal it, but injuries I think are never good.

Yeah, of course, experience helped me because especially coming back, the difference when I came back after the long injury, I never knew I was doubting a lot of myself. Like, will I be able to come back to my highest level? Will my body respond? Now it's not the same.

Now I know I'm going to be back and I'm going to be back in the highest level, but the thing is I don't know when. I don't know if it's going to be next week or if it's going to be in a month or two, but at least I don't have that doubt on myself. That's for sure. I think that helped me experience from last injury.

Q. Is it better that it wasn't kind of a recurrence of the previous injury, or it doesn't make a difference?

PAULA BADOSA: It doesn't make a difference because it can be also pretty bad, this one, but we knew how to control it. As you know, with my back injury I wake up one day and I can go back, do three steps back. Then you never know. For now it's okay, but I don't know tomorrow.