MADRID – Success in modern tennis is usually measured by two closely linked factors: titles and ranking position, and the value of the sponsorship contracts a player signs. The first almost always leads to the second — 99.99% of the time. Cristina Bucsa, the protagonist of this story, belongs to the remaining 0.01%. The exception with a racquet.
As of this Monday, Bucsa is the new No. 1 in Spanish tennis. With her victory at the WTA 500 in Mérida — the first title of her career — she climbed 32 spots in the women’s rankings to reach No. 31. Behind her now sit Jessica Bouzas (No. 50) and Paula Badosa (No. 106), who continues her slide down the WTA rankings, a victim of the chronic back injury that refuses to leave her alone.
Given Badosa’s profile — a former world No. 2 and a media star — it is fair to say that Bucsa has always walked the opposite path. While Badosa stormed into the elite after dominating her junior years, Bucsa had to wait until the age of 28 to savour the success of a major title. While sponsorship offers poured in for Badosa, Bucsa wanted nothing to do with brands or social media.
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She was content training in Cantabria, in northern Spain, the place her parents chose when they moved from Moldova to Spain in 2001. Bucsa was three years old at the time. At seven, she became the regional under-10 champion, and she would later go on to win Spanish national titles in every age category.
A father who is a former biathlete, now a coach, physio, masseur…
Her father, Ion Bucsa, a Moldovan biathlete who competed at the Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics, has always been the fundamental pillar of her career. “Besides being my coach, he’s also an osteopath, physiotherapist, masseur — and he knows a lot about fitness and nutrition,” the player said in an interview with Punto de Break a few years ago. Ion has also tried to help Bucsa break out of the shell she has always lived in.
“Let’s see if she opens up a bit now and we can find a sponsor,” the coach said after his daughter won bronze in women’s doubles at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, partnering Sara Sorribes. Until then, Bucsa had never worried about finding a brand to help cover travel costs, clothing or racquets.
Without shoes at Wimbledon
One anecdote perfectly sums up who Cristina Bucsa is. We have to go back to her Wimbledon debut in 2019. While most players arrived at the All England Lawn Tennis Club with huge amounts of clothing and shoes, Cristina ran into a problem. She had never played on grass and did not have the proper footwear. Weeks earlier she had bought a pair online, but when the package arrived, it contained only sunglasses. “It was terrible. We went to Decathlon and bought golf shoes, just in case,” she admitted years later.
Golf shoes, although they have spikes for grass, are not designed for tennis. In fact, they are not even allowed. So Cristina landed in London without shoes. She found a tennis shop near Wimbledon, but the only pair available was two sizes too big. There were no other options: she bought them, stuffed socks inside so they wouldn’t slip on her feet and even won a qualifying match.
Until just a few months ago, Bucsa was the only player in the world’s Top 100 without a clothing or racquet sponsor. She bought her own outfits and chose her racquets based on feel, not on contract. In 2025 she reached an agreement with the clothing brand Country Club by Dasha, a company founded by former player Dasha Berezhnaya and based in Singapore.
A psychology student and a fan of philosophy books, Bucsa has “given in” when it comes to sponsorship. But she remains absent from social media. She has no Instagram. No TikTok or X either. Only Facebook, which she barely uses — mainly to arrange practice sessions and doubles matches with other players.
Cristina Bucsa does not want you to find her. And she says so herself: “I like to be free; freedom is the best thing.” Now, with her first title and as Spain’s No. 1, it will be harder for her to hide.
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