Paula Badosa’s injury history may not be directly related to the tennis schedule, but that should not lessen the impact of her opinion on this subject.
After all, she, like every other player on the ATP and WTA tennis tours, has been subject to the intense physical scrutiny that the relentless calendar commands from its stars.
The Spaniard sat down exclusively with Tennishead to discuss what is arguably the biggest problem facing the sport, just after Badosa had spoken openly about her injury struggles.
Paula Badosa gives her honest thoughts on the tennis schedule
In an effort to promote her latest partnership with the zero-sugar energy drink Accelerator Active Energy, Paula Badosa was more than happy to discuss the intricacies of the tennis tour.
And, despite her well-documented physical issues, she did so with an air of self-awareness, poking fun at her own struggles of late.
Asked about the schedule, the former world number two began by admitting: “Yeah, I mean it’s always a tricky topic to talk about.
Is some of the tennis schedule irrelevant?
“We’ve been talking about this between WTA and players and trying to find the best solutions, but it’s always tough because there are a lot of tournaments and as a player you want to play them, but then you need to rest and, you know, the scheduling is always very intense. Tennis is very intense and everything, you know? So it’s never easy.
“I think we’re trying to find the best ways and the best solutions, but, you know, there’s tournaments everyone wants to play, other ones that it’s tough, but you still play.
“So, well, unfortunately, it’s not my problem now because I’m most of the time injured [laughs]. But yeah, it’s something that it’s weird having talks all the time, and it’s something that we’re trying to find the best solution for all of us.”
Fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has complained about the tennis schedule at length, and this latest update from Badosa clearly showcases that talks are ongoing to address this glaring issue.
Paula Badosa says if she thinks women should play best-of-five sets
The next natural topic following on from the schedule was regarding women playing best-of-five-set matches.
And, despite her clear grievances with the schedule, Badosa insisted that the WTA Tour would be more than capable of dealing with this increased physical demand.
She claimed: “Look, my opinion is that we are ready to handle five sets.
“I mean, we practice every day, we’ve been training for all our lives, and I think tennis and the athletes we have now in our sport are super strong, and it has evolved so much during the years, you know?
“So I think we are ready to do that, but also you have to consider the scheduling, the recovery. Um, it’s not easy to do all this kind of stuff.”
Do you think women should play best-of-five set matches?
Badosa then made a key point, touching on the struggles specific to women that often get overlooked in these debates. She added: “And I think people also forget that women go through other things. Like, hormonal stuff and energy-wise, it’s very tough to handle. It’s a topic that we don’t talk about as much, but, um, it’s there. It’s there for us, and it’s something that maybe, in men, you don’t have to handle, you know, and that’s when I speak with other players or even myself, I struggle with that, and I suffer.
“So, yeah, it’s something you have to consider also.
“So there’s a lot of things before making a decision like that that you have to consider and, well, in my case, again, I don’t know if I’m the most I can talk here because I’m obviously injured a lot of times. So maybe for me, it would be better to play 3 games or something! [laughs]
“But, yeah, it’s something they’re talking [about] and we’ll see, but there’s a lot of things to consider before that.”
