Four hours had passed since the start of her final against Marie Bouzkova — including two long rain delays. And yet, Paula Badosa, serving on match point, took a little more time to enjoy her situation.

“This is your moment, Paula, and you will do it,” she said to herself. “I believe in you and it will happen.”

Badosa laughed long and loud as she recounted the internal dialogue she had an hour after winning the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Sunday night.

“That’s what I did and it worked,” he added.

Badosa pulled off a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory to win her first title since Sydney in 2022. But her “back” story made it even sweeter. A year ago, the 26-year-old from Spain was sitting on a couch with a (literally) broken back, wondering if she would ever play tennis again.

The former World No. 2 had fallen to No. 100 when she entered the Australian Open in January. She has climbed a further 22 places to No. 40 since claiming this WTA Tour 500 title.

The unseeded wild card defeated two former Grand Slam singles champions — Sofia Kenin and Emma Raducanu — and 13th-ranked Liudmila Samsonova en route to her fourth career victory. Badosa became only the second wild card to win a WTA title this year, following Jelena Ostapenko in Linz.

A few minutes before heading to the airport (Badosa will face Clara Tauson in her first-round match in Toronto on Tuesday) she managed to have a quick chat with wtatennis.com.

It’s been 30 months since you won a tournament, coming back from a broken back. How are you feeling?

Bad: “It’s been a long time, it’s been a long time. I feel like it’s the most special title of my career. To be able to come back and play at this level and win a big title like this means a lot.”

You cried and kissed the court afterwards. … What does winning this championship mean to you?

Bad: “It means a lot to me because I didn’t know if I could continue my career. I was struggling a lot with my body, with the pain. I wanted to prove people wrong. I think that’s what kept me pushing myself. Today in particular was a very emotional day for me because I wanted this title so badly. I was happy that I was able to control my emotions as much as possible and get the win.”

How did you keep your cool during the rain delays?

Bad: “Yeah, patience is the worst thing I have, so it was very difficult for me. I think the first rain delay (1-all, second set) was my enemy, but the second one (0-0, third set) was my friend. Because there were so many emotions for me. When I left the court before the third set, I started crying. Because I was really, really nervous. But I think that helped me relax a little bit and calm myself down. And then I came back stronger in the third set.”

You mentioned that you have a greater appreciation for the game now. What’s different for you?

Bad: “The experience that I’ve had. The struggles and the ups and downs. I think I appreciate every situation, every moment, even every game — this championship — more than ever. I think when you go through the tough moments, you appreciate the good moments more.”

Your North American hard court swing is off to a great start. What are the perks of going to Toronto?

Bad: “This title gives me a lot of confidence and it will help me fight to keep pushing myself. I’m ready for the next challenge. Now, I have another match in 48 hours. This is tennis life and that’s how it works. I’ll try to have some fun tonight and rest up for the next matches. In the end, I think it helps me believe in myself more.”

Medal of the Week: Zheng Qinwen

At the Paris Olympic Games, Zheng Qinwen was desperate to win a medal for her country, but consecutive three-hour victories over Emma Navarro (saving a match point) and Angelique Kerber (in her final match) had made for a tough road to the medal rounds.

“Right now, I just have to push myself no matter what,” Zheng said ahead of a tough task that includes facing World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals. “It’s the Olympic Games, so I know I have to fight until the end no matter what.”

Zheng didn’t just fight, she thrived. The world number seven defeated Swiatek in straight sets, ending Swiatek’s 20-match winning streak on clay and 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros. It was Zheng’s first win over Swiatek in seven attempts.

Zheng then defeated Donna Vekic in the final to win China’s first Olympic gold medal in singles. Zheng achieved this feat 20 years after Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won China’s first and to date only Olympic gold medal in women’s doubles in Athens 2004.

“If I had to stay for three hours and fight and run, I feel like I could do it,” Zheng said after her victory. “And in the final, I jumped on the court and I know exactly what I have to do.”

Honor roll

Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini: In the midst of a stellar season, the duo won the Olympic gold medal in women’s doubles – Italy’s historic first gold in any tennis event. Errani also completed the Career Golden Slam in doubles.

Mrs. Vekic: Vekic, who had an unforgettable summer, returned home with an Olympic silver medal in singles on clay at Roland Garros after winning her first Grand Slam semi-final on grass court at Wimbledon.

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova: The Olympic surprise was Schmiedlova, ranked 67th and seeded fourth. Schmiedlova had only one Top 10 win in her career before Paris, but she made it two in a row at the Games, beating Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova.

Marie Bouzkova: Bouzkova defeated world number three Aryna Sabalenka in the Washington semifinals, finishing in the Top 5 for the first time in nearly a year and advancing to the first WTA 500 final of her career.

Katerina Sinyakova: Siniakova proved herself to be one of the all-time greats in doubles, winning her second Olympic gold medal alongside Tomas Machac in the mixed doubles. Siniakova has nine Grand Slam doubles titles to her name, as well as two gold medals.

To Iga Swiatek: The world number one came within a loss of her gold medal goal, but she recovered to beat Schmiedlova to win the bronze medal and give Poland its first Olympic tennis medal.

Angelique Kerber: What a debut. In the final tournament of her career, former World No. 1 Kerber reached the Olympic quarter-finals before losing to Zheng in a classic match. The three-time Grand Slam champion leaves behind a legacy of success and unforgettable moments.

From Camera Roll

The thrill of victory: For Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, this is what it means to reach the gold medal final and secure an Olympic medal for themselves:

Important Numbers

7: Sara Errani became the seventh woman to complete the Career Golden Slam in doubles by winning all four Grand Slam events and an Olympic gold medal. She joins Pam Shriver, Gigi Fernandez, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

one hundred: After battling injuries, former World No. 2 Paula Badosa dropped to a ranking of 140 on May 20 this year. In the last 11 weeks, she has climbed 100 places to 40th.

2: China medalled for its women’s tennis players in two events at this year’s Games. Alongside Zheng Qinwen’s singles gold, Wang Xinyu paired with ATP player Zhang Zhizhen to win silver in the mixed doubles.

3: With her win over Aryna Sabalenka in the Washington semifinals, Bouzkova now has three career wins over a player ranked No. 3 at the time of her matches. She defeated No. 3 seed Elina Svitolina (via retirement) in Guangzhou in 2019 and No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula in Cincinnati last year.

Hot Shot

Caroline Dolehide was all over the court and almost off the court to hit this forehand shot.

Next

After a breather on Monday, the Hologic WTA Tour will pick up the pace again with the National Bank Open starting in Toronto, Canada on Tuesday.

Toronto 2024: Draws | Calendar | Points | Dates, prize money and everything you need to know

Twelve of the top 20 players, including World No. 2 Coco Gauff and World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka, will compete in the first WTA 1000 event of the North American summer hard-court tournament.

Last year’s champion Jessica Pegula will look to continue her stellar play in Canada. She is 12-2 in the main draw at the event and has reached the semifinals or better in the last three seasons.