Paula Badosa ranted towards her box and told her coach to play during her third-round match (Image: Getty)
’s coach made a surprising revelation ahead of her clash with .
The No. 11 seed is through to her third career Grand Slam quarter-final, and Pol Toledo admitted he’d been “provoking” his charge to help her go far at Melbourne Park.
It comes after Badosa directed a
Badosa is enjoying a career-best run at the and will play for a spot in her first Major semi-final on Tuesday.
After battling a career-threatening back injury, the Spanish star rediscovered her best form in the second half of 2024 and was voted the WTA’s Comeback Player of the Year. And Badosa has picked up exactly where she left off, storming into the last eight in Melbourne.
It’s not been an easy ride for the world No. 12 as she ran into trouble against Marta Kostyuk in the third round and went 0-5 down in the second set. Badosa started wildly gesturing to her box, complaining about the wind and offering up her racket.
She later clarified that all of the anger was directed at her coach and not anyone else in her box, including her boyfriend . And her coach has now confessed to purposefully “provoking” Badosa on the court.
Paula Badosa is into her first Australian Open quarter-final (Image: Getty)
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“There are many times when I provoke her, yes. There are many times when I do say things to her so that she can get angry with me at some point, because she is a different player,” Toledo told .
“When she screams, when she plays angry, with that face that you already know, she is a different player, and that is something she needs.”
Referencing the match against Kostyuk, he continued: “She needs, and especially at some point when every game there is a moment of doubt, like yesterday, that the other player raises the level.
“That is what we try to transmit to her so that she can make the click and be aggressive or a protagonist on the court again.”
During that third-round match, Badosa was forced to defend her boyfriend – ATP No. 12 Tsitsipas – when he was seen telling her to calm down. And Toledo has also explained that the Greek player was just trying to help.
The Spanish coach added: “He simply transmitted calm to her. And there are always tense moments and more so in a Grand Slam. You know that emotions go through the roof.
“And that’s basically what, in the end, I try to do it with Paula… The only thing I don’t want is for her to play… I prefer her to show the personality she has on the court, rather than to keep it in.
“Because, for me, she’s a player who needs that on the court. To shout, to be rude, to connect with the public. If she needs to get angry, let her get angry. But she shouldn’t keep it all to herself, because that’s when it’s hardest for her.”