Paula Badosa on Changing Her Game & Limits of "Spanish Coaching"

[jimlosaltos]

Good interview on the WTA site with Paula Badosa, who continues her hot run with, I believe something like 18 wins in her last 20?. She talks about needing to play more aggressively and how learning to play in Spain discourages that (her words! Don't shoot the messenger). Also a very good highlight video of her beating several good players in the Aussie tune-ups.

Article and highlights here:
https://na01.safelinks.protection.ou...%3D&reserved=0

When I watched Badosa win Indian Wells in one of the best WTA matches of the year, over Vika, she showed great speed, solid topspin off both sides, and occasionally great change of direction winners. Now, in Australia, she's quickly turning offense to defense and going for the aggressive shots earlier and much more often.

In particular, Paula vs Dasha starting at roughly 3:30 has two of the fastest WTA players engaged in some serious smackage. When was the last time you saw 3, backhand overhead putaways in one WTA vid? French Open champ Krejcikova looks helpless. The announcer (Sue Barker, former tennis star, perhaps?) runs out of adjectives. Then falling to her back, the big smile, the boyfriend model's fist pumps <g>.


At the same link there's a good interview with her (yes, on the WTA site and it's not fluff! Who knew?). Well worth a read. She's very candid. Excerpts:


WTA Insider: At what point during the tournament did you feel your game click?


Badosa: In the quarterfinals against Belinda. I played on Court 1 so it was even faster, and I was like, 'Oh, I cannot believe this. Why do I have to play in this court against Belinda who plays always super fast.' In that match, I think I improved a lot, even if that match didn't go my way - I was lucky and I won, I played very good - I think that made me play very well in the next match against Daria and today because [the court] it didn't give me an option to try to play the point. I had to go for it on the returns, I had to serve well. So that made me improve a lot and that made me give the level that I gave in the semifinals and in the final.



WTA Insider: On the theme of improvements, you won this title by being quite aggressive. How comfortable are you playing this way and what has been the key to evolving your game this way? Some players really struggle to make the change.

Badosa: I've never been that aggressive, but I think I had the capacity of being that. But I always preferred to play another way. So I think I had that capacity to do it. Of course, it's a big step mentally as well, to go for it and to not fear about it. But yeah, I think I had the shots, but sometimes I wasn't going for it.

I think that my coach helps me a lot on that, because sometimes when you miss you just regret it so much. Why did I do it like that? I had to play the point. He's always supporting me and being there, [saying] I don't care if you do 500 unforced errors because it's the only way. When you have your team that supports you and that you feel more confident and you see that it's OK if you miss. That's a little bit my change.

WTA Insider: Do you think this feeling of not wanting to miss, is that because you grew up on clay or do you think that's your personality?

Badosa: Well it has to be a mix of everything, but I think it's a little bit how Spanish players are educated when we are very small, very competitive. But the bad thing is that sometimes we want the other one to miss and we want to win the match like that. It's impossible if you want to be one of the best players in the world - now I'm Top 10 in the world - you cannot win tournaments like that. You can win small tournaments like that, but not against the best players because they play amazing.

So that's why I was very focused on improving on that and I'm lucky that I have a Spanish coach but his mentality is not Spanish. I think we're doing a step forward on that and I think we're very happy with our work.

#

[stotty]

Great post! Two things spring to mind:

1) Sometimes the best coach is the player. It's really important they take ownership and trust in themselves. A lot of players take their coach as the gospel and listen only to the coach.

2) Sometimes the coach is trapped. I played stingy tennis when I was young and wouldn't give away a single morsel. It worked for me. A lot of my pupils didn't have that same mentality and were never going to be able to play that way. I learned the hard way as a coach but in the end I came to accept players should play to their own temperament and shot making skills.

But, yes, very often the best coach can be the player themselves. Well done to Badosa. She sounds an interesting person.

[arturohernandez]

Great post! Two things spring to mind:

1) Sometimes the best coach is the player. It's really important they take ownership and trust in themselves. A lot of players take their coach as the gospel and listen only to the coach.

2) Sometimes the coach is trapped. I played stingy tennis when I was young and wouldn't give away a single morsel. It worked for me. A lot of my pupils didn't have that same mentality and were never going to be able to play that way. I learned the hard way as a coach but in the end I came to accept players should play to their own temperament and shot making skills.

But, yes, very often the best coach can be the player themselves. Well done to Badosa. She sounds an interesting person.

Taking ownership. Very good point! Tennis is a solitary game. No coach can tell you what to hit at any particular point in time. Every player is different. I have three kids and each plays differently. My son loved to live on the edge with his serve. He had no fear of a second serve and often won points outright. Getting into a long rally. Not such a good idea.

My oldest liked to slug it out with her backhand.

My youngest wants certainty. She would like to make every shot perfect. If she misses a shot, it is like a travesty.

So she becomes too safe.

I can only imagine all the different personalities and styles you have seen!

[arturohernandez]

Good interview on the WTA site with Paula Badosa, who continues her hot run with, I believe something like 18 wins in her last 20?. She talks about needing to play more aggressively and how learning to play in Spain discourages that (her words! Don't shoot the messenger). Also a very good highlight video of her beating several good players in the Aussie tune-ups.

Article and highlights here:
https://na01.safelinks.protection.ou...%3D&reserved=0

When I watched Badosa win Indian Wells in one of the best WTA matches of the year, over Vika, she showed great speed, solid topspin off both sides, and occasionally great change of direction winners. Now, in Australia, she's quickly turning offense to defense and going for the aggressive shots earlier and much more often.

In particular, Paula vs Dasha starting at roughly 3:30 has two of the fastest WTA players engaged in some serious smackage. When was the last time you saw 3, backhand overhead putaways in one WTA vid? French Open champ Krejcikova looks helpless. The announcer (Sue Barker, former tennis star, perhaps?) runs out of adjectives. Then falling to her back, the big smile, the boyfriend model's fist pumps <g>.


At the same link there's a good interview with her (yes, on the WTA site and it's not fluff! Who knew?). Well worth a read. She's very candid. Excerpts:


WTA Insider: At what point during the tournament did you feel your game click?


Badosa: In the quarterfinals against Belinda. I played on Court 1 so it was even faster, and I was like, 'Oh, I cannot believe this. Why do I have to play in this court against Belinda who plays always super fast.' In that match, I think I improved a lot, even if that match didn't go my way - I was lucky and I won, I played very good - I think that made me play very well in the next match against Daria and today because [the court] it didn't give me an option to try to play the point. I had to go for it on the returns, I had to serve well. So that made me improve a lot and that made me give the level that I gave in the semifinals and in the final.



WTA Insider: On the theme of improvements, you won this title by being quite aggressive. How comfortable are you playing this way and what has been the key to evolving your game this way? Some players really struggle to make the change.

Badosa: I've never been that aggressive, but I think I had the capacity of being that. But I always preferred to play another way. So I think I had that capacity to do it. Of course, it's a big step mentally as well, to go for it and to not fear about it. But yeah, I think I had the shots, but sometimes I wasn't going for it.

I think that my coach helps me a lot on that, because sometimes when you miss you just regret it so much. Why did I do it like that? I had to play the point. He's always supporting me and being there, [saying] I don't care if you do 500 unforced errors because it's the only way. When you have your team that supports you and that you feel more confident and you see that it's OK if you miss. That's a little bit my change.

WTA Insider: Do you think this feeling of not wanting to miss, is that because you grew up on clay or do you think that's your personality?

Badosa: Well it has to be a mix of everything, but I think it's a little bit how Spanish players are educated when we are very small, very competitive. But the bad thing is that sometimes we want the other one to miss and we want to win the match like that. It's impossible if you want to be one of the best players in the world - now I'm Top 10 in the world - you cannot win tournaments like that. You can win small tournaments like that, but not against the best players because they play amazing.

So that's why I was very focused on improving on that and I'm lucky that I have a Spanish coach but his mentality is not Spanish. I think we're doing a step forward on that and I think we're very happy with our work.

#

The Spanish coaching system is very interesting. T/here is a base style of play but they adapt. It is not rigid. I mean think of Nadal, Verdasco and Lopez. Very different players!

Badosa is maximizing her talent. That is true of all Spanish players. You never get the feeling that they are slacking.

[jimlosaltos]

The Spanish coaching system is very interesting. T/here is a base style of play but they adapt. It is not rigid. I mean think of Nadal, Verdasco and Lopez. Very different players!

Badosa is maximizing her talent. That is true of all Spanish players. You never get the feeling that they are slacking.

Yes, as I was reading her interview I thought of Carlos Alcaraz. Aside from his amazing ball striking talent, there's a kid that is trying to hit every ball through a brick wall and presumably will get better as he builds play more -- so the opposite of her critique.

But, for me, what interests in her interview is less a critique of regional coaching but her candor about changing her game and also watching her emerge. At the beginning of the year, she & her coach set goals for this year. The coach said 'let's aim for top 30 in the world', she admits she said '30 is too ambitious, i'll be happy to make top 50". Now, she's 8 in the world -- yet looking to change & improve her game.

Also, her attitude during matches impresses me. Watching from the stands during her title win over Vika at Indian Wells, it was intriguing to see how Badosa rebounded repeatedly. This was a dog fight, one of the best WTA matches of the year IMHO. The tension near the end of the third set was palpable. Vika would make a good play (she was attacking Badosa's second serve often). Badosa would turn to her camp with gestures that said, "what can I do?" looking despondent. Then the next point -- bang she's back -- she'd end a long rally with a change of direction shot.

Since it is NFL playoff time, there's a phrase used with cornerbacks that they "have to have short-term memory loss". She could be a DB <g>.

She could also be a lot of fun to watch for years