ADELAIDE: Former world number two Paula Badosa begins her injury comeback at the Adelaide International this week in a field populated with four Grand Slam champions, all gearing up in the final countdown to the Australian Open.
Spain's Badosa missed the second half of 2023 with a stress fracture of the back but was confident before tomorrow's tournament start that her fitness would hold up.
"I want to get back to my level as soon as possible. I know it's going to be tough at the beginning," said Badosa, who has three career WTA single's titles.
"It's been a lot of months that I didn't play. Winning a Slam, It's one of my dreams, and it will always be until the day I retire."
She has not played since quitting Wimbledon in the second round, and returns to Adelaide having reached the semi-finals a year ago before withdrawing with injury.
Badosa, who managed only one Grand Slam appearance in 2023, said there was little she was able to do to speed up her recovery, but had noted progress in the last month.
"Since three, four weeks ago, I've been pain-free... but it was like a rollercoaster, a very tough process."
Topping the seeding list on the women's side of the ATP-WTA tournament is 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina, with current All England Club title holder Marketa Vondrousova seeded three.
Sandwiched in between is Jessica Pegula, runner-up to top-ranked Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals in November.
Completing the lineup of heavyweights are a pair of Roland Garros winners: Barbora Krejcikova (2021) and Jelena Ostapenko (2017).
World number five Pegula starts with a bye, with the American hoping to improve later this month on a career Grand Slam record which has ended six times in the quarter-finals.
"I feel I've put up obviously great stats over the last couple of years, super consistent," she said.
"I had a great run at the finals, so hopefully beating that many high-calibre players (at the majors) back-to-back will give me some confidence."
The men's field is headed by Tommy Paul of the United States, with Chile's Nicolas Jarry seeded two and 2023 finalist Sebastian Korda, also of the United States, three.
Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis, who lifted the trophy in 2022, will be trying to do the same again at Memorial Drive.
The world number 65 is making a comeback of his own after a disappointing end to 2023.
"I got injured a little bit before Davis Cup, so I wasn't able to play there. I'm looking at this to try and kick-start my year," he said.
"This week feels like my starting point where I feel physically and mentally ready to go."