In battle of 2022 world No. 2s, Paula Badosa defeats Anett Kontaveit at Adelaide 2

On April 25, 2022, Paula Badosa reached No. 2 on the WTA singles rankings. Six weeks later, Anett Kontaveit joined her in rising to that career-high benchmark.

Much has changed on that front since. Both were unsuccessful in returning to the WTA Finals in a year that saw each raise one 500 trophy within the first two months of the season. Kontaveit was hampered midway through 2022 by a bout with COVID-19 and Badosa sputtered to a 3-9 finish.

Which brought us to Tuesday, January 10, 2023. With an impressively competitive field entered at the Adelaide International 2, Badosa and Kontaveit drew each other in the first round. Now ranked No. 11, Badosa was seeded ninth. Her unseeded opponent entered at No. 17.

Badosa, whose 2022 title run came this very week when Sydney hosted a 500, emerged as the superior server when the two took the court. While both made 63 percent of their first serves, the Spaniard enjoyed a 72 percent success rate on her second. In start contrast, Kontaveit managed to win just 27 percent.

The result: a conclusive 6-4, 6-3 victory for Badosa after relinquishing just two points at the service line in the opening set.

“I think I started really good. I was serving really well, going for the first shots. The court was a little fast, so I had to adapt my game a little bit,” Badosa said on-court afterwards.

“United Cup wasn’t my best day on the serve. After that, I worked a lot these past 10 days. I was really focused on that.”

Badosa will look to build on her victory against Kontaveit’s countrywoman, Kaia Kanepi, come Wednesday. As the 25-year-old noted when previewing the matchup, Kanepi “has a good head-to-head against top players.”

Kanepi progressed through the qualifying stages before dismissing Storm Hunter, 6-2, 6-2.