"First year, I was stressed and worried because I was doing it by myself" - Paula Badosa on her financial struggles and humble beginning

Paula Badosa recently shed light on her childhood, her humble beginnings, and the financial difficulties she had to face in her career early on.

Former World No. 2 Paula Badosa has been sidelined with a stress fracture in her spine since the 2023 Italian Open in May. However, the Spaniard registered a comeback at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, but eventually, she was forced to retire in the second round against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk.

In the third episode of My Journey: Paula Badosa, the 25-year-old revealed that she fell in love with tennis very early on in her life.

"I started playing tennis when I was seven years old, I felt it was quite easy for me, you know? So then I realised that, well I think I am good at this. So since then, I didn't even try the other sports, I just went straight to tennis and it was like love at first sight," Badosa said.

Paula Badosa further spoke about her family's humble beginnings and how as a 15-year-old she wanted to become independent. Badosa understood the difficulties of being a professional tennis player and did not want to burden her parents financially.

"I have always been very aware, I know how tough it is to be a professional tennis player and how expensive it is, you know? And It's not for everyone. I come from a very humble family, so I always have been very independent, so I never wanted them to help me. When I was 15, I already started to deal with my own financial part and start to learn from it as well," she said.

The Spaniard further revealed her personal struggles and worries before she eventually broke into the top 100 of the WTA player rankings.

"Ofcourse I was struggling with expenses and everything, but I was doing it by my own, because I didn't want them to carry that weight on their shoulders. That first year until I broke into the top 100, I was stressed and worried, because I was doing it by myself," Badosa added.

"I want to be more than a tennis player" - Paula Badosa stresses the importance of education

Paula Badosa played her last match at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships Five: The Championships - Wimbledon 2023

During the same episode of My Journey: Paula Badosa, which is a feature series of the WTA and is being aired on YouTube, former World No. 2 Paula Badosa emphasized the significance of a good education.

"Education to me is very important, I mean it's the key," Badosa said.

Elaborating further, the former Indian Wells champion opined that being a professional tennis player is not enough and that she strives to do more.

At the end of the day, we are professional tennis players but it's not enough. It's something I really struggled with in the past because I want to be more than a tennis player, I want to know more and I want to do more," she added.

Having been injured since the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, Badosa recently announced on social media that she is now back in training and has finally started working out again.

The former World No. 2 also revealed her comeback plans, stating that her aim is to represent her country, Spain, in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which will be held from November 7-12 in the Land of Flamenco itself.