Paula Badosa's Terrible Season Start Continues With Another Underwhelming Loss
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Paula Badosa's start of the 2025 season was less than ideal, as she lost two of the three matches she played.
The Spanish player chose to start her season at the Brisbane International after not doing so well during the off-season exhibition in Abu Dhabi. She was the fourth seed in the draw of the WTA 500 event in Brisbane, starting against Elina Avanesyan, ranked 44th in the world.
Naturally, Badosa was the favorite to win the match, and had she won, she would have taken her good friend Ons Jabeur. But the Spanish player lost to Avanesyan 3-6, 6-1, 2-6.
She has then decided to compete in one more WTA 500 event, the Adelaide International. As she said, ahead of the tournament, it's one of her favorite events to start the season.
"It's my fourth year in a row, I think. Time flies. What I like from here also the conditions of this tournament, but also it's very convenient. It's very easy. Also I have to say I like to play here. The fans are great. Coming back here, it's always special. It's a tournament I always enjoy."
The Spaniard started her tournament with a hard-fought win against Peyton Stearns, who she beat 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 after nearly three hours of play. But in the second round, another marathon match wasn't victorious for the fifth seed.
She played against another American, Ashlyn Krueger, who bested Marta Kostyuk in the first round of the tournament. The two met only once before, and it was Badosa who was victorious at last year's Qatar Open in Doha.
This time, the Spanish player didn't start well, as she was broken immediately in the first game. Still, she broke back to make it 2-2, but Krueger pushed her opponent against the wall again, breaking to lead 3-2.
It seemed that the American player would serve out the set, as both players continued holding their serves without too many issues, but a run of nine consecutive points won meant that Badosa broke back and even led 6-5.
The opening set was then decided in a tie-break. Both players had multiple chances, but ultimately, Krueger proved to be the better player, winning the tie-break 7-4.
Badosa's struggles continued in the second set. Once again, she fell behind by a break, but she recovered. This happened twice in the second set. Eventually, it was also decided in a tie-break, but this time the Spaniard won 7-4.
Badosa fell behind in the third set as well, but this time, she was not able to recover. Krueger saved all three break points she faced in the third set, winning the match 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the 2025 Adelaide International. Of course, she was very happy about the win.
"I’m really happy right now. It hasn’t been easy. I’ve played 9 matches straight. I’m just fighting out here. To fight Paula out here… it’s a great match. It’s always gonna be."
Badosa, on the other hand, will want to forget about this loss. She will enter the Australian Open among the higher-seeded players, which should give her a good chance to go far.
