Spain’s No. 1 player on the WTA tour is back to the top 10 after a great Australian Open, where she played her good friend Sabalenka in the semifinals. Paula Badosa has been up and down as much as any other player on tour, with a career high No. 2 ranking and injury woes following each other for years. But what is her racquet and gear?
Paula Badosa’s tennis racquet
Paula is known for playing with a Wilson Blade cosmetic, but as many players on the WTA tour is using a Wilson Steam mold below. With the 16×20 string pattern telling the story, she is using a BLX Steam 100 underneath the updated paintjob. This racquet originally is slightly extended at 27.25 inches and was 295gr in its stock form, which isn’t produced or sold anymore, unfortunately.
She strings her racquets with a full bed of Alu Power, one of the most popular strings on tour, at a pretty high tension which can reach up to 30kgs according to stringers. Other reports earlier where that she rather strings around 23kgs, so this might also vary according to weather and conditions.
Bio and career
Badosa was born in Manhattan, New York, as her Spanish parents worked in fashion in the United Status at this point. They moved back to Barcelona, where young Paula started playing tennis at the age of 7. A 2015 juniors’ French Open champion, Badosa has a career high junior ranking of No. 8 before she started playing on the pro tour full-time.
After winning her first matches on WTA level in 2015, it took her a bit of time to fully arrive and compete on the highest stage of women’s tennis. She debuted in the top 100 in 2019 and had her first Grand Slams match win in 2020, before she finally had her big break-through in the 2021 season. After winning the Belgrade and Indian Wells titles, she went on to reach World No. 2 in the following year and adding another title.
She was diagnosed with a chronic back injury in 2023, which doctors said would keep her from playing tennis in the future and ultimately threw her all the way back to No. 140. But with her Spanish fighting spirit she fought back and finished 2024 as “Comeback Player of the Year” in world No. 12, before returning to the top 10 this season.
Stats and fun facts
- Prize money won: 8,995,679 USD
- Height: 5ft11
- Favorite surface: clay
- Tennis inspiration: Maria Sharapova
- Plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand
- She speaks Spanish, Catalan, English and French
- Clothing sponsor: Nike
- Probably the most famous tennis couple with Stefanos Tsitsipas
- 4-0 record in WTA career finals
2024 season stats
| Matches played | 56 |
| Overall record | 37-19 |
| Aces | 265 |
| Double Faults | 310 |
| 1st Serve % | 57.3 % |
| 1st Serve Won | 69.5 % |
| 2nd Serve Won | 46.8 % |
| Service Games Won | 73.9 % |
| Return Points Won | 44.8 % |
| Break Points Converted | 48.6 % |
| Return Games Won | 36.9 % |
Career titles
| Year | Tournament |
| 2021 | Belgrade Open (WTA 250) |
| 2021 | Indian Wells (WTA 1000) |
| 2022 | Sydney International (WTA 500) |
| 2024 | Washington Open (WTA 500) |
Social Media of Paula Badosa
You can follow Paula Badosa on Instagram @paulabadosa or check out her homepage at badosapaula.com , where you can find all the latest news on her (or Stefanos ?)
