The Spanish captain of the Billie Jean King Cup, Annabelle Medinadiscussed in an interview with EFE the panorama of current women’s tennis and highlighted the great year that Paula Badosa is signing, of which she indicated that she has a level of play not only to stay in the top ten but to aspire to be number two or one in the world.
The Spanish tennis player, after hatching last year, has ratified her good feelings and results this season, after reaching the semifinals in Indian Wells and having to retire due to illness in the Miami quarters, which has allowed her to rise to the podium of women’s tennis world, being the third in the WTA classification.
“The level she has is a joy because what we have seen historically in recent years in tennis is that the players who have very good results, as may be the case with Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez they are having many problems to consolidate that level and in the case of Paula it is not being like that“, he indicated.
“He is doing very good tournaments, in Indian Wells he made the semifinals, and now in Miami this unforeseen event has happened to him in the quarterfinals.I pay close attention to the game and in his case he has a level of tennis to stay in the top ten and aspire to be close to two or one“, he added.
And it is that Medina highlighted the difficulty that young tennis players have to consolidate their status after having had great success. “Emotional management is difficult because the scenario changes a lot for them, they go from being totally unknown players to having all the focus on them and that happens to them at a very young age. Paula is a little older, she happened to her at 23, and Raducanu at 18, and managing these situations is not that simple. We believe that they are very old and have a spectacular maturity but it is a matter of adapting to this new scenario because they have a level of tennis”, she explained.
The director of the BBVA International Open in Valencia also pointed to the negative impact that it is having on the new generations of tennis players the influence of new technologies and social networks. “The issue of having everything so immediate with social networks, of having any news instantly, that makes you have less patience, be more immature, be more distracted. I notice very much that it is very difficult for young people to maintain concentration and tennis is a sport of great concentration and a lot of consistency and commitment, and I do notice that, that it is difficult for young people. You talk to them and they find it hard to stay focused and that is showing in tennis, both male and female, “she said.
Regarding the recent withdrawal of world number one Ashleigh Barty, at just 25 years old, Medina told EFE that the announcement half surprised him. “I was surprised yes and no, yes because of the moment he was in, he was number one in the world and had just won his tournament, the Australian Open at his home, and it kind of shocks you, but not because of the record he has Dyed“, he claimed.
“She suffered a lot when she was very young because a lot of pressure was put on her because it was considered that she was going to be a great tennis player, which he later confirmed, but at the age of 15 or 16 he had to stop because he couldn’t take the pressure. That break made her give value to the things that she considers important, such as her family, her environment, being in her house and that tennis for her has been important but not the main thing, because I have given more priority to the personal part than to the professional“, he continued.
“She doesn’t need that focus and being the center of attention, she doesn’t need to win many Grand Slams. She has had a super successful career, she has won three Grand Slams and she has been world number one, I think she already feels satisfied with that and wants to do other things in life and you have to respect him, but he is still very young and who knows if in three or four years he decides to come back againMedina explained.
Finally, he referred to the situation that Garbiñe Muguruza is going through with injuries and that has affected him in this first third of the season. “It worries me a little because he has had to be removed from three very important tournaments and that means that in the end he has something to take care of. The decision is correct because in the end, competing with injuries does not help and takes away confidence in the emotional part, the best thing is to stop, recover and come back stronger, “he stressed.
