WTA world No 3 Paula Badosa has admitted that comparisons to Rafael Nadal have done herself and her fellow Spanish players “a lot of damage” The 24-year-old was ranked down at world No 65 when she made the semi-finals of last year’s Madrid Open as a wildcard, backing it up with her first Major quarter-final at the French Open. But she has detailed living in Nadal’s shadow and shut down comparisons between the 21-time Grand Slam champion and 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.
Badosa heads into this year’s French Open as one of the favourites, sitting at No 3 in the world with a WTA 1000 title from last year’s postponed Indian Wells already under her belt. But it was a very different story for the Spaniard when she made the last-eight in Paris 12 months ago after what was a breakout clay swing, and the three-time title winner has admitted that Nadal’s success overshadowed those achievements as well as those of her fellow Spaniards.
“Comparisons with him have done a lot of damage and taking the legacy has to be forgotten, it’s impossible. We are talking about the best athlete in history, not only in Spain,” she told Eurosport. “Someone like that only happens once every thousand years, we have to stay with the fact that we have been lucky but repeating Rafa’s is impossible, although I hope I’m wrong.”
The comparisons have been at an all-time high with the rise of Carlos Alcaraz, who has almost mirrored some of a then-18-year-old Nadal’s achievements this year, even winning the Barcelona Open and cracking the top 10 on the same day Nadal did, 17 years later. Touching on the comments made about the 19-year-old, Badosa said: “He is going to be a great athlete, a new figure in our country. It is Carlos Alcaraz and it is only going to be him, let’s not try to look similar to what we have with Rafa.
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