Quote of the Day: Paula Badosa calls Top 10 comeback “dream come true”

DUBAI—This time last year, Paula Badosa was ranked outside the Top 70 and struggling to complete matches. The former world No. 2 was dealing with a back injury that first derailed, then threatened to end her career entirely, as she missed most of the 2023 season hoping to heal.

Badosa would have been forgiven for lowering her expectations to match her decreasing mobility, but the Spaniard never abandoned her biggest goals and set to work at achieving them once her back was back to normal last summer.

Read more: Paula Badosa turns pain into power with 2024 summer surge

“My coach opened the notebook and told me, ‘Right now, you’re No. 115. What are your goals for this year?’” Badosa recalled in Cincinnati. “I was like, ‘Look, I think it would be very good if our goal was for me to be seeded next year at the Australian Open.’ We talked about being ranked No. 60, and he calculated the points that I needed to make that happen.”

Now back in the Top 10, Badosa revealed at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships that that initial goal was part of a 12-month plan, one she ultimately achieved five months ahead of schedule by reaching her first major semifinal at the Australian Open.

Indeed, dreams come true abound for Badosa:

Q. I think last year you talked about writing in the notebook about how you wanted to be back in the Top 70. You smashed that goal. Did you go back to the notebook during the pre-season and see what goals might you have written?

PAULA BADOSA: You know, I have to say in that notebook—this is a small secret—after Paris and clay-court season, I'm going to show it just to prove it, in that notebook I said where I wanted to be a year after, what ranking, where do I see myself a year after, after all the struggles, how do I see myself in Rome 2025.

I said I'm going to be back in the Top 10. I'm happy that I came sooner. What I want to say with that is when you have self-belief and you trust the process, you really want it, I think dreams can come true, yeah.

In a full-circle moment, the Dubai resident returned to her home tournament and defeated Lulu Sun, the player against whom she retired a year ago, and backed up that maiden victory with an emphatic win over Elise Mertens, booking a blockbuster third-rounder against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Will Badosa wait to share her notebook until Rome? Or will we see the proof on social media sooner?

UPDATE: Badosa sent a copy of the notebook, complete with her Top 10 goal and May 20 timestamp: