WTA Star Makes “Never the Most Confident Player” Confession Despite Past Success
There is a version of Beatriz Haddad Maia‘s career that looks, from the outside, like sustained excellence. A top-10 ranking.
September 1, 2025, Flushing Meadows, New York, USA: Beatriz Haddad Maia reacts after losing a game lead during a match against Amanda Anisimova on Day 9 of the 2025 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Monday September 1, 2025 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. JAVIER ROJAS/PI Flushing Meadows USA - ZUMAp124 20250901_zaa_p124_169 Copyright: xJavierxRojasx ©IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire There is a version of Beatriz Haddad Maia ‘s career that looks, from the outside, like sustained excellence. A top-10 ranking.
A Roland Garros semifinal. Success on the WTA Tour. The most successful Brazilian tennis player of her generation, widely regarded as the player who lifted the sport’s profile in her country more than anyone since Gustavo Kuerten.
On the surface, the story is of a player who found her best. On the inside, it’s always been more complicated. Speaking to Punto de Break at the Mutua Madrid Open after a first-round loss to Jessica Bouzas, which she described as playing “far below the level I’ve been training at”, Haddad Maia was honest in a way that recast that “best of times” in her career.
“Even back then, winning a lot of matches and taking several third sets, I was never the most confident player. I always had my nerves, my doubts, like everyone else,” she said. The admission is striking because it’s coming from someone talking about the pinnacle of her career.
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