Paula Badosa won the girls’ singles title at Roland Garros in 2015, beating Anna Kalinskaya in the final. Six years later she won Indian Wells, the biggest title of her career, and in April 2022 she was No. 2 in the world. The seasons since have been shaped as much by her back as by her tennis.
New York and the Costa Brava
Badosa was born in New York City on 15 November 1997 and represents Spain. According to her WTA biography, her hometown is Begur on the Costa Brava; she often trains in Barcelona and lives in Dubai. She speaks English, Spanish and Catalan, and names Maria Sharapova as her childhood idol.
The long way up
She played her first professional tournament in 2012 and won her first ITF title that same year, according to the WTA. As a wild card at the 2015 Miami Open she reached the third round, her first breakthrough on the tour, but she was still ranked 143rd at the end of 2018. Her Grand Slam main-draw debut came as a qualifier at the 2019 Australian Open, where she lost in the first round to Kimberly Birrell.
The first real run at a major came at Roland Garros in 2020. She beat former finalist Sloane Stephens and 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko on the way to the fourth round.
2021, Belgrade to Indian Wells
Her first WTA title came on clay in Belgrade in 2021, over Ana Konjuh in the final. She reached the semifinals in Charleston, Madrid and Lyon that season, and the Roland Garros quarterfinals. In October she won Indian Wells, beating two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in a third-set tiebreak in the final, the WTA reported. The title took her into the top 20 on Oct. 18. She reached the top 10 on Nov. 8 and then made the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.
No. 2
Badosa opened 2022 with the Sydney title and reached the semifinals at Indian Wells, Stuttgart and San Jose that year. On 25 April 2022 she rose to No. 2, her career high, according to the WTA.
The back
In 2023 she reached the semifinals at the second Adelaide event and the quarterfinals in Charleston, Stuttgart and Rome, but withdrew from Roland Garros with a back injury and did not play after Wimbledon, according to the WTA. She finished that year ranked 66th.
The recovery in 2024 was quick. She won her fourth title in Washington, reached the semifinals at Cincinnati, Beijing and Ningbo and the US Open quarterfinals, and finished the year at No. 12. The WTA named her its Comeback Player of the Year.
At the 2025 Australian Open she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal, losing 6-4, 6-2 to Aryna Sabalenka, and returned to the top 10 for the first time since October 2022. Injuries took over the rest of that season. She withdrew from Indian Wells, the scene of her biggest title, with a lower back injury, and played only one tournament after Wimbledon, reaching the third round in Beijing, according to the WTA.
The game
Her WTA biography describes her as an aggressive baseliner whose favourite shot is the serve. Three of her four tour titles have come on hard courts, including the one that made her name, at Indian Wells.
Grand Slam best results
- Australian Open: semifinal (2025)
- Roland Garros: quarterfinal (2021)
- Wimbledon: fourth round (2024)
- US Open: quarterfinal (2024)
WTA titles
- Belgrade (2021)
- Indian Wells (2021)
- Sydney (2022)
- Washington (2024)
Season Snapshot — 30 September 2026
Badosa is ranked 59th, according to her WTA player page, and is unseeded at the China Open in Beijing, where she opens against Daria Kasatkina. The two met in the first round of the US Open, a match that took Badosa two days and nine match points to win after rain stopped play, according to the WTA; she lost to Coco Gauff in the next round.
Earlier in 2026 she won the WTA 125 title in Bastad and reached the final in Iasi, and in September she reached the semifinals in Sao Paulo. She is coached by Pol Toledo, according to the WTA.
This snapshot is dated and will change. The career record above does not.
More: the full ATP and WTA player index.
