WASHINGTON — Paula Badosa of Spain won the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Sunday for her first victory following a back injury, beating Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in a rain-interrupted match.
The 26-year-old Badosa, ranked as high as No. 2 in the world, was sidelined six months last year because of a stress fracture.
“One year ago I was on the couch, so it’s a big difference now,” Badosa said. “Now I’m an athlete again.”
She has four WTA Tour victories, also winning in 2021 at Belgrade and Indian Wells and in January 2022 in Sydney.
“I was really, really nervous because I really wanted it really bad,” Badosa said.
The match was delayed for about 40 minutes early in the first game of the third set. On Saturday in the semifinals, Bouzkova rallied to beat top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 after a long weather delay in the third set.
Bouzkova was playing her first WTA 500 final. She won her lone career WTA Tour title in 2022 in Prague.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.