Badosa wins DC Open, first title since back injury

Tennis

WASHINGTON — Paula Badosa of Spain won the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Sunday for her first victory following a back injury, beating Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in a rain-interrupted match.

The 26-year-old Badosa, ranked as high as No. 2 in the world, was sidelined six months last year because of a stress fracture.

“One year ago I was on the couch, so it’s a big difference now,” Badosa said. “Now I’m an athlete again.”

She has four WTA Tour victories, also winning in 2021 at Belgrade and Indian Wells and in January 2022 in Sydney.

“I was really, really nervous because I really wanted it really bad,” Badosa said.

The match was delayed for about 40 minutes early in the first game of the third set. On Saturday in the semifinals, Bouzkova rallied to beat top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 after a long weather delay in the third set.

Bouzkova was playing her first WTA 500 final. She won her lone career WTA Tour title in 2022 in Prague.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

Carmouche misses weight for PFL semifinal bout
White Sox lose 20th in row, 1 shy of AL record
India vs Sri Lanka Live Score, 1st ODI: Focus On Virat Kohli’s Role As Gautam Gambhir-Rohit Sharma Era Begins
Five Rounds: Nurmagomedov-Sandhagen is perfect, Mokaev’s future … not so much
Training camp battles to watch for all 32 teams: QB1 jobs up for grabs in Pittsburgh, Denver, Minnesota, Vegas

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *