In a recent interview with EFE, Paula Badosa shared a heart-warming praise for Rafael Nadal, explaining how her legendary countryman was a source of inspiration for her. The 26-year-old explained how Rafa was close to her in difficult moments caused by injuries. Paula, who withdrew from the WTA 1000 in Wuhan and the Tokyo tournament, will be among the protagonists of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which will be held in Malaga from 13 to 20 November. The same city that will also host the last highly anticipated event of Nadal’s career.
“I was moved when Rafa announced his retirement. In the end, you also go back to childhood, to the beginnings. I will never forget my beginnings, the inspiration and watching all the matches, all the finals with Rafa in the great comebacks. I think he was an incredibly good player in the legend, but he was also a player who could move people, and that’s what made him more special. Just doing what he did, it was emotional, and that will be missed a lot on the tour. She has always been an idol for me. She has always been a person who helped me a lot, even with my injury she gave me advice. Obviously I thought about communicating with him, but I want to give him time because I know that for him right now it’s a very intense moment and I don’t like to invade spaces. So I will wait a little bit, but obviously I will get in touch with him,” she said.
Badosa then added an analysis on what Rafa’s farewell will be like: “It will be something very beautiful, very emotional, obviously sad at the same time because a legend like Rafa Nadal is leaving, but I think he has chosen a very beautiful place, at home. I have many images of him. What inspires me most about Rafa are all those comebacks, those moments when things aren’t going well, because now I experience them firsthand. The ability he had to overcome problems, difficulties, in this I think there will be no one like him.”
The Spaniard talked also about her goals for the rest of the season, explaining: “It was never my goal to go to the Masters Cup. This year my goal was to get as high as possible. Think that four months ago I was 120th in the world and for me to be 10th or 11th in the ranking was already a lot. It wasn’t in the plan to be in the final and I also think that what I have to learn is to choose the tournaments well and take care of myself physically and mentally. The positive thing about having done badly this year is that next year I don’t have much to defend and I hope to be even higher, which is what I want in the end. I want to play the last rounds, measure myself against the best in the world and see what my level is.”
Although everyone knew that Nadal’s farewell to tennis was imminent, the news of his farewell unleashed a wave of emotions. The Spanish champion published a long and moving video to announce his retirement, which will take place – as stated at the beginning of the article – after the Davis Cup Finals scheduled in Malaga in November.
Also Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, gave his opinion on the retirement of the Majorcan champion, in an interview with Sky Sport: “It’s a bit sad. I think it happened because he saw that he couldn’t compete at the level he had been at for two decades. I really admire the Big 3, for their consistency, for being there every season, for how they never gave up and arrived. They come back after every injury, they are three geniuses. I try to learn from their body language, from how they react in difficult moments. We will miss them a lot.”
The only survivor of the Big 3 remains Novak Djokovic, who will probably end the season without titles for the first time since 2006. The Serbian, except for the triumph at the Olympic Games in Paris, has had a season without highlights. After the withdrawal in Paris Bercy, the former number one also sees his participation in the ATP Finals to be played in Turin at serious risk. At the moment, the 24-time Slam champion is in 6th place in the race but sees Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev a few hundred points behind him and Alex De Minaur a little further behind.
