NATIONAL BANK OPEN

August 8, 2022

Paula Badosa

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Paula, how are you feeling?

PAULA BADOSA: I'm feeling okay. I just arrived. I think I played a few matches in San Jose. I'm feeling okay, feeling well. My first time here as well. So ready to start and let's see how it goes.

Q. Did you treat the kind of Wimbledon, not break, it wasn't a full break after Wimbledon, but did you have an opportunity to kind of hit pause, take time away from the court and reset for the next half of the season?

PAULA BADOSA: Yeah, I did it. I took like five, six days off and I tried to disconnect. I always say "try" because it's sometimes difficult. But, yeah, I went for a small holiday there and I tried to reset a little bit.

I'm really happy to be here because I really enjoy to play in the U.S. I always think that I played really well here. I'm happy to be back on hard courts as well. So, yeah, I'm happy to be here.

Q. I wanted to ask, after Roland Garros you said it's kind of hard playing as the favorite, something you need to get used to. Since then is it easier now or is it still a challenge?

PAULA BADOSA: No, (laughing) it's not easier. I think, of course in the position I am today and as I always hear and I said sometimes, that pressure is a privilege. I know that and I think I'm very lucky to be in the position that I am today.

But still of course it's stressful and it's tough to play as a favorite all the time. Because you feel like that obligation like to win and to not upset the people. It's tough.

In my case I know it's like maybe the first year, because last year I was playing maybe more loose and everything was coming very new for me and I was playing the favorite, so it was a little bit easier for me.

But this year's totally different. So of course sometimes I struggle more than other tournaments. But still I think I'm doing a pretty good year after all. I'm trying to manage all these new things, all this pressure, as well to be more known in the world and in Spain as well.

It's a lot of new changes in my life that I think I'm trying to deal with as good as I can. And I think that for the moment it's going pretty well let me keep it like that. (Knocking on wood.)

Q. On that point, you're No. 5 in the Race, it's not, 12 months ago you probably would have been very excited to be in the position that you are just in your season. So how hard is it to remember that and to keep perspective on that?

PAULA BADOSA: Yeah, it's very hard and I think that's where my team makes an amazing work. They're like, Don't forget, you're No. 5 and you're dealing with all these new things, all this pressure and you're still in the top level. So they're helping me with that balance.

Because sometimes you forget about it and you just like forget where you come from and you just want to win, win, win and it's impossible to do that.

So I try to find that balance and sometimes I feel that as well. And it's normal that fans and people expect a lot and they expect that you have to do every week like Indian Wells. And that doesn't exist.

So, yeah, I'm trying to deal with all these kind of things. I think the main part there is that my team tries to protect me a lot and to make me like stay in my own bubble and just work hard. I think if you work hard and calm I think things will come.

Q. You mentioned it's the first time coming to Toronto. Do you have any bucket list things you want to do, places to go, things to see?

PAULA BADOSA: Yes, of course. Unfortunately I arrived yesterday. At 2 p.m. I just reached at the hotel. So you can imagine that I'm a little bit tired today.

But I hope I can be here a lot of days and I can visit a city that people said that is amazing. And it's my first time here, so I really am trying this year like to change that kind of things because I was very used to go from site to the hotel and not seeing anything else.

Yeah, this year I'm changing things. I try to visit and to see different cultures and I think as well as different part and it's a good part as well for disconnecting.

Q. You're part of a group of a lot of young players on the women's tour that are having success. What's it like, each and every week it seems like there's a different young newcomer that's pushing each other. What's it like to have that competition amongst each other?

PAULA BADOSA: I love it. I think that's perfect. I'm quite the tennis fan, even though I'm tennis player. I love to watch matches and I love to see the new young players, the new young stars that are coming up. I really follow the tennis because I really enjoy it.

I like it. I like to have this competition. I like to have all these amazing players. Iga, now Ons is doing an amazing year, all the top-10 players. Because I think they push me to be better and they challenge me every time I play against them. Next day I'm like, Okay, I have to work on this. So I think they make me a better player and I'm happy for that.

Q. You said you're a fan, do you feel that you also learn at the same time?

PAULA BADOSA: Yeah, of course. Every player has a different game and every player has like their own special thing that they do very well.

So of course I want to try to do everything well, so of course I try to see how, I don't know, one player serves or how they return or how they play.

I try to adapt myself a little bit as well. Because I think tennis, it's constantly an evolution. So I'm trying to every time, every day being even one percent better tennis player, for me, I try to do that.

Q. I wanted to get your sense as to what your takeaways were from last week in San Jose. A heart-fought first round against Mandlik and then beating Coco and losing to Dash who won the title. So positives, negatives, was it frustrating, what was your take from it?

PAULA BADOSA: I think the balance was positive. I think I won two pretty good matches. Even the first one I wasn't expecting that big, big level and high level from her. I think she played unbelievable and very good tennis, because I didn't play bad at all, I felt pretty good. With Coco I played very well as well. So I played very good two matches.

Then with Dash is totally different. It's tough to adapt a little bit from one day to another playing different players. And I think in her game she's now feeling everything. You know when you're like in that state of flow, that everything goes on your way, I think she's like that. She's a hard worker so she totally deserves it. I didn't think I didn't play my best that day, but still things happen.

So, yeah, I think the resume of everything is that I played two pretty good matches, I'm feeling well and I'm really motivated to play here and the weeks that are coming now until US Open. So, yeah, I'm feeling okay.