The current crazy tennis calendar offers the latest caper this month and concentrates in an interval of 22 days up to five competitions that overlap or overlap, all of them trying to squeeze their market share. Paris-Bercy had not been decided when the eight teachers were already rallying in Riyadh; The Coco Gauff trophy had just been lifted and the eight masters were already parading through Turin; In the middle of the Men’s Masters, the Billie Jean King Cup takes off this Wednesday and with Spain on the poster for the opening day, against Poland (5:00 p.m., Movistar+); and the women’s team tournament will not have finished yet and Rafael Nadal will already have been seen in Malaga, on the verge of farewell, while the Davis Cup will be settling the quarterfinals of the final phase.
Between the packed program of events, every day split, whether in the morning, afternoon or evening, and a good handful of protagonists. Among them, Paula Badosa, spearhead of the Spanish team after last year she had to give up the Seville resolution due to the back injury she has been carrying for a year and a half. Today, your reality is different; still delicate, but very different. The impossibility of having continuity from the previous season has given way to a regularity that the Catalan, 26 years old, enjoys to the fullest. The last few months have restored his faith and boosted his performance, in one of the most meritorious ascensions of this course. In January, Badosa was 68th; in May, the 140th; and now, happy, it is 12th on the list.
“I have finished the year very well and I have been preparing very hard for a couple of weeks. I come with a lot of confidence and with many“I want to represent my country at home, it is something very special,” he said last Sunday at the rally. “It has been a year of many emotions, the worst and the best. Being among the best in the world again was one of my goals and it has been achieved, so I am very proud of myself,” added the Spaniard, having won the Washington title, the US Open quarterfinals and a valuable package of semifinals in Cincinnati, Beijing and Ningbo that have returned her to the noble zone of the circuit, once again appearing as a sharp competitor.
She will clash with Iga Swiatek, who after losing the WTA throne, now occupied by the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, has opted for a break – as of September, she has only participated in the Masters Cup – and a touch-up on her bench with the hiring of the Belgian Wim Fissette, once Naomi Osaka’s coach. “She has tennis and the motivation to return to the top,” says the one from Warsaw, supported in the individual modality by Magdalena Frech (25th). To tackle the latter, captain Anabel Medina will surely turn to Jessica Bouzas, debutant and 55th in the world. The 22-year-old beat Badosa in Madrid and eliminated the defending champion at Wimbledon, Marketa Vondrousova, to then reach the third round.
Bucsa’s absence
“Being here is a gift. If I have to play, I will give it my all. I have been in the final draw of many Grand Slams for the first time,” says the Galician, while the coach will reserve a priori the guerrilla spirit of Sara Sorribes (106th) for the doubles, in which the Valencian may form with Badosa or Bouzas to face Maja Chwalinska and Katarzyna Kawa. Completing the list are Nuria Párrizas (98th) and Marina Bassols (155th), mentioned at the last minute due to the loss of Cristina Bucsa. The Cantabrian and Sorribes triumphed this year in Madrid and later won bronze at the Paris Games, but an abdominal tear will prevent them from performing again. “It takes us a little bit on the changed foot, but we have to accept that sport is like that,” Medina says with resignation.
The event, directed by Conchita Martínez, will begin today with the fight in the round of 16 against Poland. If they advance, Spain would face the Czech Republic and in a hypothetical semifinal they would meet the winner of the series between Italy and Japan or Romania. On the other side of the table are the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Slovakia. The two finalists will collide on Wednesday the 20th at the Martín Carpena, the same venue that will host the Davis. Last year Canada triumphed, the same team that defeated the Spanish team in the first series. With five titles in the showcase, those obtained in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998, the block led by Medina outlines the attempt with enthusiasm and realism.
“I have been captain for seven years, and each round is a new goal. These Finals are special, we are playing at home and the Andalusian fans are very good. Having this team is a privilege, and I think we are ready to start,” explains the coach, while Conchita, present in all the successes achieved in the old Federation Cup, highlights the importance of having a clear reference in the team, case of her or Arantxa at the time, Garbiñe Muguruza later or Badosa today: “It is very important to have a player who is pulling the car, to have that figure who leads the others to think: ‘Why not me? also?”.
MÁLAGA, THREATENED BY DANA
AC | Turin
The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) warned this Tuesday about a new episode of torrential rains that has put up to nine communities on alert, including Andalusia (western) and, more specifically, Malaga.
The AEMET has activated the red notice in the city that will host the Billie Jean King Cup these days and the Board sent a notice to the mobile phones of Malaga residents, warning that 100 to 102 liters per square meter can accumulate in 12 hours. The Andalusian government has suspended all classes in the province.
This new dana also threatens the start of the tennis tournament. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) states that they await “the recommendations of local authorities” and that they are committed “to making a decision regarding Wednesday’s match schedule based on the latest conditions.”
Therefore, the course of the day will depend on the circumstances. It should be remembered that the BJKC will not be held inside the Martín Carpena, but in an adjacent facility with just over 4,000 seats.
