Champions Corner: Badosa ends title drought, Zheng shines with Olympic gold

It had been four hours -- including two lengthy rain delays -- since her final against Marie Bouzkova had begun. And yet, serving at match point, Paula Badosa took some extra time to savor her situation.

“This is your moment, Paula, and you’re going to do this,” she said to herself. “I believe in you, and it’s going to happen.”

Recounting that internal conversation one hour after she won the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Sunday night, Badosa laughed, long and loud.

“So that’s what I did,” she added, “and it worked.”

Badosa was a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 winner and collected her first title since Sydney in 2022. But her “back” story made it even sweeter. A year ago, the 26-year-old from Spain was sitting on a couch with a (literally) broken back, wondering if she’d ever play tennis again.

The former World No.2 had fallen to No.100 when she entered the Australian Open back in January. After taking this WTA Tour 500 title, she’s vaulted another 22 spots, up to No.40.

The unseeded wild card beat two former Grand Slam singles champions -- Sofia Kenin and Emma Raducanu -- as well as No.13-ranked Liudmila Samsonova on her way to a fourth career victory. Badosa is only the second wild card to win a WTA title this year, following Jelena Ostapenko in Linz.

A few minutes before dashing off to the airport -- Badosa is scheduled to play Clara Tauson in a first-round match in Toronto on Tuesday -- she managed a quick chat with wtatennis.com.

It’s been 30 months since you’ve won a tournament, coming back from a broken back. How does it feel?

Badosa: “It’s been a while, been a while. It feels like it’s the most special title of my career. Being able to come back to play at this level and to win a big title like this means a lot.”

You were crying and kissing the court afterward. … What does winning this title mean to you?

Badosa: “It means so much because, after all, I didn’t know if I could continue with my career. I was struggling so much with my body, with the pain. I wanted to prove people wrong so much. I think that kept me pushing myself. Especially today, it was very, very emotional for me because I wanted this title so badly. I was happy I could contain my emotions as much as I did, and I could get the win.”

How did you maintain your composure through those rain delays?

Badosa: “Yeah, patience is the worst thing I have, so it was very tough for me. I think the first rain delay [at 1-all, second set] was my enemy, but the second one [0-0, third set] was my friend. Because there were so many emotions for me. I started to cry when I came out of the court before the third set. Because I was really, really nervous. But I think that helped me to release a bit and calm myself down. And then I came back stronger in the third set.”

You’ve talked about having a higher appreciation of the game now. What’s different for you?

Badosa: “I think the experience that I went through. The struggles and ups and downs. I think I value every situation, every moment, even every match -- this title more than ever. I think when you go through tough moments, you value the good ones even more.”

Your North American hard-court swing is off to a great start. Takeaways into going into Toronto?

Badosa: “This title gives me a lot of confidence and will help me fight to keep pushing myself. I’m ready for the next challenges. Now, in like 48 hours, I have another match. This is the tennis life, and it works like that. I will try to enjoy a bit tonight and to rest for the next matches. In the end, I think this helps me to believe more in myself.”

Medal of the Week: Zheng Qinwen

At the Paris Olympic Games, Zheng Qinwen had a desire to win a medal for her country. But back-to-back three-hour wins over Emma Navarro (saving a match point) and Angelique Kerber (in her last career match) had been an arduous path into the medal rounds.

“Right now, I just got to push through whatever happens,” Zheng said ahead of a challenging task, including facing World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. "It’s the Olympic Games, so I know I got to fight until the end whatever happens.”

Not only did Zheng fight, she thrived. The World No.7 defeated Swiatek in straight sets, snapping Swiatek's 20-match winning streak on clay and 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros. It was Zheng's first win over Swiatek in seven attempts.

Zheng then topped Donna Vekic in the final, winning China's first Olympic gold medal in singles. Zheng accomplished the feat 20 years after Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won China's first and heretofore only Olympic gold in tennis, in women's doubles at 2004 Athens.

"If I needed to stay three hours and fight and run, I feel I can do it," Zheng said after her victory. "And in the final I jumped on the court, and I know exactly what I have to do."

Honor Roll

Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini: In the midst of a stellar season, the duo earned the Olympic gold medal in women's doubles -- Italy's historic first gold in any tennis event. Errani also completed the Career Golden Slam in doubles.

Donna Vekic: Also having a summer to remember is Vekic, who followed up her first Grand Slam semifinal on the grass of Wimbledon by taking home an Olympic silver medal in singles on the clay of Roland Garros.

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova: The Olympic surprise was 67th-ranked Schmiedlova, who finished in fourth place. Schmiedlova had notched only one career Top 10 win before Paris, but she picked up two straight at the Games, over Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova.

Marie Bouzkova: With an upset of World No.3 Aryna Sabalenka in the Washington semifinals, Bouzkova posted her first Top 5 win in nearly a year and made the first WTA 500 final of her career.

Katerina Siniakova: Proving she is already one of the all-time doubles greats, Siniakova grabbed her second Olympic gold medal alongside Tomas Machac in the mixed doubles. Siniakova has nine Grand Slam doubles titles to go with her two golds.

Iga Swiatek: The World No.1 ended up one defeat away from her goal of gold, but she regrouped to beat Schmiedlova for the bronze medal and secure Poland's first Olympic medal in any tennis event.

Angelique Kerber: What a way to go out. in the final tournament of her career, former World No.1 Kerber made her way to the Olympic quarterfinals before falling to Zheng in a classic. The three-time Grand Slam champion leaves behind a legacy of success and memorable moments.

From the Camera Roll

The thrill of victory: Here's what it means to Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini to make the gold-medal final and guarantee themselves an Olympic medal.

Notable Numbers

7: Sara Errani becomes the seventh woman to complete the Career Golden Slam in doubles by winning all four Grand Slam events and the Olympic gold medal. She joins Pam Shriver, Gigi Fernandez, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

100: After suffering with injuries, former World No.2 Paula Badosa had fallen as low as No.140 on May 20 of this year. Over the past 11 weeks, she has risen exactly 100 spots to No.40.

2: China picked up medals for women's tennis players in two events at this year's Games. Along with Zheng Qinwen's singles gold, Wang Xinyu paired with ATP player Zhang Zhizhen to earn silver in the mixed doubles.

3: By beating Aryna Sabalenka in the Washington semifinals, Bouzkova now has three career wins over a player ranked No.3 at the time of their match. She beat No.3 Elina Svitolina at 2019 Guangzhou (via retirement) and No.3 Jessica Pegula at Cincinnati last year.

Hot Shot

Caroline Dolehide was everywhere on the court -- and nearly off the court -- to execute this forehand winner.

Next Up

After catching our breath on Monday, the Hologic WTA Tour kicks back into gear on Tuesday with the start of the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto 2024: Draws | Schedule | Scores | Dates, prize money and everything you need to know

Twelve of the Top 20 players, including World No.2 Coco Gauff and World No.3 Aryna Sabalenka, will contest the first WTA 1000 event of the North American summer hard-court swing.

Defending champion Jessica Pegula will try to continue her stellar play in Canada. She is 12-2 in main-draw play at the event and has made the semifinals or better in each of the past three seasons.