Iga Swiatek paid a touching tribute to the “really nice” Paula Badosa ahead of their Billie Jean King Cup meeting.
World No 2 Swiatek and world No 12 Badosa face off when Poland faces Spain in a Round of 16 tie at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga.
The number one players for their respective nations, Swiatek and Badosa’s meeting could prove key in deciding which nation progresses to a quarter-final meeting versus the Czech Republic.
The tie was originally meant to take place on Wednesday but has been pushed back due to heavy rain and flooding in Malaga.
Badosa will have home crowd support when she faces the five-time major champion and heads into this encounter after a hugely successful summer.
The former world No 2 has returned to the top 15 of the WTA Rankings, thanks to results including a fourth WTA title in Washington and a US Open quarter-final – just months after falling out of the top 100.
The Spaniard has struggled with a serious back issue in recent years and, while not phased by having the crowd against her, Swiatek knows she will need to be at her best against her resurgent rival.
“It’s not the first time I’m playing somebody who is going to have the whole audience behind them,” said Swiatek.
“It’s not going to be easy and I will need an extra focus. I’m going to focus on my tennis first, because playing against Paula is always a challenge. I’ll prepare tactically because we haven’t played in a while.
“I was actually looking at her journey and I was kind of worried if she was going to be able to come back, because obviously her injuries weren’t easy and smooth, and sometimes she tried, but it wasn’t working.
“So honestly, I was super happy to see her back playing her tennis in these tournaments, at the US Open, and plenty of others. She’s a really, really nice person, and I felt like she’s really pushing to be back.
“Anybody who has this kind of grit and determination, you know, deserves to be there. Hopefully, she’s going to continue that.
“But we’ll see this week. I’m probably going to focus on myself, and hopefully she’s not going to play that well – we’ll see.”
Swiatek was a late addition to the Poland squad, only announcing last month she would be playing in the Finals, having skipped the competition 12 months ago.
She added: “I’m happy that I can be part of the team again, because I always wanted that every year, but with the scheduling, it was pretty tricky and kind of impossible to make it work.
“I’m just happy to be here, and hopefully, I can play some solid matches here and stay as long as possible together with the team.”
