Paula Badosa teamed up with the WTA for a tell-all interview where she detailed her own journey with mental health.
Paula Badosa has been candid about her struggles with depression and anxiety, bringing attention to the difficulties faced by gifted young athletes that are sometimes disregarded and hidden from the general public. Badosa disclosed that she struggled with mental health concerns and was overburdened by expectations from an early age.
"They were like, I'm the next Maria Sharapova" explained Badosa who was not ready to hear such words: I was very young and I wasn't prepared to listen to all that. It was super big, a lot of expectations and pressure...People watching me wherever I play and expecting me to win every match was too much for me."
While always open about her own struggles Badosa detailed her struggles openly in this interview stating that there was a lot of depression and anxiety: "I remember, a few years I had depression and a lot of anxiety. I was dealing with a lot of mental health issues. My head wasn't prepared to listen to all those things and compete.
"I wasn't, maybe, even mature enough to know how to deal with all those emotions in that moment. I struggled a lot for a few years, maybe 2-3 years it was very tough for me. I wasn't even advancing in the rankings and I was losing a lot"
Like many with similar issues Badosa withdrew spending a lot of time alone which did not help:
"I remember even normal things in life were very tough for me. The first thing you want to do when you're back home is go out with friends or go to the cinema or do other things, go shopping. I was just staying at home alone, struggling, and dealing with myself, being very negative. I didn't see a way to get out of it."
She did manage to escape it, and everything turned out fine, but she is still battling some worries. She encourages open discussion since it does help for that reason.
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