Paula Badosa’s 2025 season did not go to plan.
The Spanish star began the season on a positive note, reaching her first ever Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open.
From there, she competed in various WTA Tour events, including the Miami Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
After losing to Katie Boulter in the Wimbledon second round, the 28-year-old revealed that she had suffered a tear in her psoas, the muscle which connects the top of the leg to the lower back.
This injury had prevented Badosa from competing on the Tour for much of the year, with her only appearances since Wimbledon occurring in September.
However, one can hope she has recuperated well during the off-season.
Paula Badosa meets Ronaldo and Alessandro Del Piero
At the ‘World Sports Summit’ in Dubai, Badosa met two footballing icons – Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima [otherwise known as ‘R9’] and Alessandro Del Piero.
Ronaldo is one of Brazil’s greatest players – an icon who scored the winning goals for his nation in the 2002 World Cup final.
The Brazilian scored 352 goals for club and country during his career, playing for the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
Del Piero is another iconic striker. The Italian player is considered a talismanic figure in Juventus circles, having led the club to six Serie A titles and a UEFA Champions League triumph in 1996.
Badosa posted a picture with the two legendary figures on her Instagram story.
The post was captioned: “With good company.”
Paula Badosa played an off-season exhibition
Badosa recently competed in the World Tennis League, an annual mixed-gender exhibition event.
The tournament, held in India this year, was won by Team Kites, a team composed of Nick Kyrgios, Marta Kostyuk, Dhakshineswar Suresh and Ankita Raina.
The champions defeated Team Eagles 22-19 in the final. The finalists’ squad consisted of Gaël Monfils, Paula Badosa, Sumit Nagal and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty.
Earlier in the tournament, Badosa defeated Magda Linette and Marta Kostyuk. Both matches were one-set affairs.
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