Paula Badosa has criticized the Spanish Tennis Federation and said Carlos Alcaraz's rise hides the Federation's lack of groundwork support for players.
Badosa has made her return to tennis in 2024 after a long time out with an injury. She had not played since Wimbledon due to a stress fracture in her back that took longer to recover from than expected.
The Spaniard has been impressive after such a considerable period away from the sport. Badosa lost in the Australian Open third-round to Amanda Anisimova, but played very well to make it that far at the event.
Badosa was previously critical of the courtside bar at the Australian Open, but she now has another issue she is concerned about. This is the lack of Spanish players coming through, especially in women's tennis.
Badosa said the lack of Spanish players is something she has thought about a lot and the situation makes her sad.
"I've been thinking and saying this for a long time, there's a lack of players. It's something that makes me a little sad because I believe that our movement has always had many athletes. I was inspired by many players like Rafa, David Ferrer, Verdasco."
Badosa acknowledged some of the talent on the ATP Tour, but was especially concerned by female Spanish players. There are only three Spanish players in the WTA top 100.
"Now we have an exceptional player like Carlos Alcaraz, Davidovich Fokina who has a lot of potential and is an excellent tennis player capable of anything, but then on the women's side we are struggling a little more."
The 26-year-old also criticized the Spanish Tennis Federation and said that their failures are being covered by the remarkable rise of Alcaraz, who lost in the Australian Open quarterfinal to Alexander Zverev.
"I think there's still a lack of good groundwork from the Federation or something like that.... Luckily, having Alcaraz covers everything we have behind us as there aren't many Spanish players at the moment."
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