Paula Badosa has never experienced a voluntary mental health break, but she deems it quite normal as someone who has dealt with mental health issues before.
Badosa has been one of the many athletes who have spoken up recently about mental health. She's been quite forthcoming about her own struggles with mental health earlier in her career and believes it's very important to talk about it.
She's just one of several players who promote it alongside Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek, and others. It's been a hot topic as well, with multiple players taking breaks from the sport due to the fatigue that comes with it.
Notable examples include Garbine Muguruza, who is still on a break, Naomi Osaka, who came back recently, and whose break was also extended by pregnancy, and Amanda Anisimova, who is also back.
That's nothing strange for Badosa, who had time away from the sport last year as well, though that was due to an injury and not necessarily because she wanted it. It was still a nice chance to step away from the sport a little bit and recharge.
"I think it's something totally normal. As I always say, I respect that a lot. Mental health is the first thing. It's a priority here. Tennis, it's very tough mentally. It's very stressful. I totally understand it."
The question about it was posed to Badosa because she played Anisimova in her most recent match, with the American emerging as victorious. The Spaniard is glad to see Anisimova back in the sport and doing well. Clearly, the break helped her to rediscover her love for the sport.
"For sure now she's feeling much better. She had some time off. Yeah, I don't know the other cases of the other players, but if they feel of stopping, I always support that."