So far this season Paula Badosa has experienced nothing but bad luck leading up to Grand Slam tournaments.
In January the Spanish No.1 sustained an abdominal injury during her match against Beatriz Haddad Maia at the Adelaide International which resulted in her withdrawal from the Australian Open. Badosa returned to action in the Middle East but struggled to regain her momentum on the Tour after losing her opening match at two consecutive tournaments. Then in Indian Wells and Miami, she won two out of four matches played at those events.
Badosa looked set to be on her way back up in recent weeks following a strong run on the clay where she has reached the quarter-finals in Charleston, Stuttgart and Rome. However, she has encountered another setback after medical tests revealed that she has sustained a new injury, this time to her spin, whilst playing in Rome last week.
“Just when everything seemed to be fine again, I received bad news just before starting a Grand Slam,” Badosa wrote on Twitter and Instagram. “At the tournament in Rome I suffered a stress fracture in my spine. It has been very hard news after such a difficult start of the season with injuries.
“This is going to keep me out of the competition for some weeks. Thanks to all of you who were with me no matter what. I’ll keep you posted.”
After dropping out of the top 40 last month, the 25-year-old is currently sitting at 29th in the WTA rankings. A stark contrast to 12 months ago when she was a top-five player.
“The main thing for me is to continue competing regularly, improving little by little and moving forward in the process,” Badosa said last month during the Madrid Open. “In the long term, I want to return to where I was because I believe that I belong to the group of the best in the world.”
Badosa has won three WTA titles so far in her career with the most prestigious of them being at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. However, she has only managed to reach the last eight of a major event once which was at the 2021 French Open.
Badosa will be replaced in this year’s French Open draw by a lucky loser.