Full article

Badosa's Wimbledon upset: Premature farewell and ranking alert

It was not the ideal scenario for Paula Badosa. Neither physically nor emotionally. Wimbledon always imposes, and when you arrive touched and with a capricious draw, everything can go down the drain. And that happened this Monday in London. The Spaniard fell in the first round against Katie Boulter (6-2, 3-6, 6-4) and now looks with concern her place in the Top 10 of the WTA ranking.

The back discomfort she has been carrying since Berlin was already a bad sign before arriving at the All England Club. Badosa could hardly roll, arrived without rhythm and paid dearly to an opponent who, although not part as seeded, playing at home and is in good shape. Boulter, second best-ranked British, took a deserved victory in a duel that had everything but continuity by Paula.

The beginning was an ordeal for the Catalan. Without first serves, unsettled and without spark, she surrendered the first set with little opposition. But what has Badosa is that it does not usually throw in the towel. And in the second set, he took that aggressive version that has given him so much joy. He began to add winners, his forehand did damage and managed to equalize the match, returning the illusion to his box.

The third set started with good feelings. He even got an early break that made him dream of an epic comeback. But the dream was short-lived. Boulter responded instantly and, from there, the match went to a very mental terrain. The match remained level until 5-4, where nerves set in. A couple of errors by Paula, a double fault and a couple of long shots were enough for the British to take advantage and close the match as soon as she smelled blood.

The defeat cost Badosa 230 points in her ranking, after not being able to defend the round of 16 achieved in the last edition. She will now have to watch the progress of Anisimova and Emma Navarro, who have a clear path to break into the top ten if they advance in London.

With the clay tour already behind her and the grass court tour over, the focus now shifts to the American hard court tour. There, Paula defends many points, and will need to be at one hundred percent if she does not want to continue losing positions and confidence.

Meanwhile, the Spanish joy of the day came from Cristina Bucsa. The Spanish-Moldovan player was very solid in her debut against the Romanian Todoni, whom she defeated with authority by 6-4 and 6-4. Bucsa did not give up her serve once and showed a great version, with only four unforced errors in the whole match.

Her next opponent will be one of the great threats of the tournament: the Croatian Donna Vekic, semifinalist in 2024 and who comes from sweeping Kimberly Birrell. The challenge is huge, but Bucsa arrives with confidence and already knows what it is like to reach the second round at Wimbledon. This time, she will be looking to go one step further.

Without Badosa in the draw, the attention will now focus on the options of Cristina, who can become the only Spanish representative in the third round if she maintains her level. Wimbledon continues, but the path for Spanish women's tennis has become more complicated than expected.