Paula Badosa has spoken out about the pressures of professional tennis and explained how social media can negatively impact players.
The demands of professional tennis can be relentless and Badosa has faced her fair share of criticism in recent years. Recently, the Spanish player spoke out about how some comparisons between her and Maria Sharapova had a negative impact on her performance.
Often, Badosa uses her platform to speak out about negativity towards tennis players and she recently responded to a video of a father lashing out at a young player on the court. In a recent interview with Glamour, Badosa took the chance to outline some of the factors that contribute to player pressure.
"For me, the most important thing is the environment you have, how you rely on them, because in the end it is very intense. You are very young and you have to mature by leaps and bounds. Sometimes your head is not prepared to withstand all that pressure, that demand to play in front of 20,000 people, the press, yourself."
However, Badosa continued to highlight more specific parts of the modern game that can impact players' mental health. When reflecting on the early retirement of Ashleigh Barty, who stopped playing at the age of 25, Badosa said social media played a part.
"A lot of things accumulate. There are also social networks, which is also something that influences. That's why there are players who retire, who go through anxiety, depression. Learning to lose is the most difficult thing for me. We play every week and there is a day of that week that you are going to lose, because obviously you don't win all the competitions, it's impossible. For a very good year, you can win two or three tournaments."
"You already know that you are going to lose the others and that's why you have to train your head to learn how to lose, which is one of the things that I have had the hardest time understanding. Also, that you can get positive things out of failure and that every week is a new opportunity."
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