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The Spaniard's season has been a dream so far. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday November 9, 2021

Before the 2021 season began, Spain’s Paula Badosa found it impossible to imagine herself inside the WTA’s Top-30, let alone the Top-10. Well, dreams do come true.

The 23-year-old Spaniard, coming off the Indian Wells title, currently ranks No.10 in the world and she’ll take her place in a wide open draw at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara as one of the six debutantes competing in singles this year.

It has been a wild ride indeed for the Spaniard. Of the eight players competing in singles this week in Mexico, Badosa had the lowest ranking of the group at the end of 2020. She was No.70 in the world then, but a year later she has emerged as a true force on the WTA Tour, with 41 wins and two titles to her name to prove it.

“It means a lot,” she said when asked what being in the Top-10 means to her. “I will try not to get emotional, but I've been through a lot. I'm very proud of myself. I think I did a very good year. It always has been a dream to me to be in top 10, one of the best players in the world. Now it's coming true.”

Welcome to the Top 10 @paulabadosa! 🤩

The fifth Spanish woman to achieve this milestone. 👏 pic.twitter.com/YzHYdQAZZe

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 9, 2021

Badosa said when she was setting goals at the start of the season, Top-50 was what she saw as a realistic target.

“At the beginning of the year I remember having a conversation with my coach after Abu Dhabi, my first tournament,” she said. “He said, ‘You keep playing like this, for sure you're going to get the top 30.’

“I was like, That's impossible to finish the year top 30. Top 50, I can sign here. Imagine I finished the year top 10. What can I say? Yeah, I didn't even expect it. Even less expected to be here in the WTA Finals.”

Badosa, who has been drawn into Gropu Chichen Itza, is in with three other WTA Finals debutantes (Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari). She says it’s a tough group, but after spending the last few days getting used to the playing conditions in Guadalajara she is ready for the challenge.

“They're all amazing players,” she said. “I know I'm opening with Aryna. She's No. 2 in the world, one of the favorites here. I know it's going to be a tough one. All of them, they're playing well. The others in the group, they can adapt quite well in altitude. It's going to be a tough group but I'm ready for it.”

Players talked about the enormous challenge of playing at altitude ahead of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday November 9, 2021

Playing at an altitude of about 5,100 feet, or 1,550 meters, means that the tennis will be more tricky than usual this week at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. We asked the top players how they are finding the conditions, and what they are doing to make the adjustment.

“I have not experienced anything like this before, this altitude,” Garbiñe Muguruza said in her pre-tournament press confererence on Tuesday via Zoom. “I've definitely played well in Mexico in other conditions.”

The Spaniard, who will open her tournament against Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday, says that every day she spends practicing on site, things get a bit better for her.

“Just struggling to get used to conditions because I've never experienced anything like that, like what I said before,” she said. “But looking forward, every day getting a little bit better. Hopefully tomorrow I can get the best version of myself there.”

🇨🇿 @KaPliskova: 5th-straight @WTAFinals showing 🤝

🇬🇷 @mariasakkari: 1st Greek woman in Top 10 🏺 pic.twitter.com/2soUKKQxSt

— wta (@WTA) November 9, 2021

Maria Sakkari, who will make her debut as the first Greek to every play the WTA Finals, says it might be necessary to win ugly this week in Guadalajara.

“I think we all knew we have to come quite early here because of the conditions,” she said. “I mean, we knew that there is 1,500 meters altitude here. We knew we had to adjust.

“I personally know I might not play my best tennis but I have to accept it because sometimes it will feel weird. Sometimes you'll make mistakes that you wouldn't make in sea level tournament. It's just whoever accepts the most mistakes, whoever accepts playing ugly tennis this week – 'ugly', you know what I mean – will give herself a better chance on winning the tournament.”

Iga Swiatek on her preparation: “We were practicing in Phoenix, in the mountains, because Bethanie @matteksands invited us. She provided some good clubs.

“Good tennis clubs, I mean. Don't get me wrong, I am not partying that hard.”#AKRONWTAFinals pic.twitter.com/Zfuizcs3gy

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 9, 2021

Poland’s Iga Swiatek, also making her debut as the youngest player in the singles field at 20, says she spent time in Arizona after Indian Wells, practicing at altitude with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. She says the heavier, pressurized balls being used at the tournament are also tricky to play with.

“For me it's like everything, with the altitude and the balls,” she said. “I think the conditions are okay. But I would say if we would play here with normal balls, they would, like, fly like crazy, so I'm pretty happy that the tournament provided us with the different ones so we can actually play.”

Karolina Pliskova, who has reached the semifinals at the WTA Finals three times, says that playing at altitude is also tough on the lungs.

“Of course you feel a bit heavier breathing,” she said. “That's something what you can get used to and what actually we are used to because we've been running a lot.”

The 29-year-old, who is the oldest singles competitor at Guadalajara this year, says that the courts are slow and the balls are bouncing high. Like Sakkari, Pliskova is ready to accept the fact that perfect tennis may be out of the question at this year’s WTA Finals.

“A combination, of course, of the balls, the conditions and the court because I think the courts are quite, like, slower,” she said. “The balls are bouncing quite high. That's been something what I was struggling a bit this week.” Of course, like, I had enough days. It's not perfect at all, but let's see. Doesn't have to be perfect unless I win, so let's see how the matches will go.