Iga Swiatek complained about the noise and crowd following her win against Naomi Osaka at the 2024 Roland Garros, and Paula Badosa put a different perspective on her comments.
After winning a very tricky battle with Osaka, the world no. 1 admitted that the loudness and general behavior of the crowd bothered her at times, and she tried to explain it to the crowd directly after the match.
The fans cheered for Osaka quite a bit in this match, supporting her as an underdog, as it's generally a trend, and the Parisian crowd was rowdy, and that wasn't the first time that happened this year.
Some colleagues approved of the comment, but Badosa had a different opinion. When the Spanish player was asked about Swiatek's comments, she thought the Polish player should not complain, considering that she gets to play on the biggest courts.
Playing on the outside courts is far trickier because there is more noise on all sides, something Badosa can attest to personally, having played on the outside courts many times.
"I think she cannot complain, because I played Court 8 and 9 and you can hear everything. Like, I can hear Suzanne Lenglen, Philippe Chatrier, Court 6, 7 during the points. I think she's very lucky she can play all the time on Philippe Chatrier and she's okay with that."
Badosa further added that she doesn't mind the noise as much. She just tries to focus on herself and stay present in the moment, disregarding what goes on around her. In a way, she also doesn't mind when fans cheer loudly.
"But I don't mind. As I said, I played in small courts these days, and I was hearing so much noise. In that moment, I'm just so focused on myself and on my match that it doesn't really bother me. Honestly, I like when the fans cheer and all this. I think I get pumped."
"Look, we had a very tough situation years ago when we were playing without fans with the COVID situation, so now, for me, l'm so happy they're back and I think they’re very important for our sport."