Team Spain's hopes at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga have been boosted by Paula Badosa's confirmation that she will play at the tournament despite already ending her WTA season.
Although Spain has talented players on its team, such as the substantially improved 22-year-old Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Badosa is the country's highest-ranked singles player by far.
Badosa's involvement is even more crucial because Team Poland, which the Spaniards face in the first round, has Iga Swiatek on its roster. The five-time Grand Slam champion reversed her decision to skip the event.
As the two top-ranked singles players on their respective teams, Badosa and Swiatek will play each other in Malaga. The Spanish No. 1 undoubtedly must produce an outstanding performance to overcome someone of Swiatek's caliber.
However, Badosa can take encouragement from her level since the North American hardcourt season. After deciding to skip the Olympics, the 26-year-old secured her first title in over two years at the Citi Open.
Badosa backed up that achievement by reaching the US Open quarterfinal and the semifinals of the Canadian Open and the China Open in Beijing. She led Coco Gauff by a set and a break in Beijing but could not get over the line.
Returning to such a high level after her injury problems in recent years is impressive. But that has been overshadowed somewhat by a controversy that saw Badosa accused of racism.
The former world No. 2's coach, Pol Toledo, shared a picture of Badosa squinting her eyes using chopsticks, a gesture often used to mock and discriminate against Asian people.
Badosa received much criticism from fans on social media. Despite initially apologizing for the picture, she subsequently lashed out at those criticizing her, accusing them of being bullies.
The Spaniard then announced the end of her 2024 WTA season because of health issues, saying it had been a long season and that she had overcome situations that seemed impossible.
Yet, Badosa also stated she was looking forward to representing Spain at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and did not elaborate on what her health issues were, which created some confusion.
Nonetheless, Badosa confirmed she would play at the Billie Jean King Cup, which is an ITF rather than a WTA-organized event, next month. She did a video for the tournament's social media pages before commenting on the video on X (formerly Twitter).
"Who do I see in Malaga? I'm waiting for ALL of you! Let's go."
Badosa's decision not to play any more tournaments during the Asian swing but being available for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals raises the possibility that she actually wanted to leave Asia because of the racism controversy, but it is impossible to know that for sure.
Regardless, Badosa's teammates are undoubtedly relieved she is playing at the year-end event. Overcoming Swiatek promises to be difficult, and the 26-year-old might need to become inspired by her home fans in Malaga to have a chance.
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