Paula Badosa explains specifics of the back injury that derailed her career as she stages Australian Open miracle

WTA star Paula Badosa narrated the daunting reality behind her reverted decision to end her tennis career. The Spaniard explained how the back injury not only brought hassles to her competitive levels but also caused mental stress. This made her consider giving up playing professionally.

Badosa incurred a vicious injury back in 2023. Reports unveiled that the WTA star had fractures in her spine (L4, L5) which demanded prolonged treatment and adequate rest. Amid this, she also suffered mental stress, leading to thoughts of wrapping up her blooming tennis career.

In a press conference, following the commendable 7-5, 6-4 win over the American WTA star Coco Gauff, Badosa mentioned how things appeared to be getting out of her grip last year.

“Well, it was a stress fracture in my L4 L5 that wasn’t recovering, and then the facet joints also like they were inflamed all the time so every time I was doing exercises, I had to stop because it wasn’t responding well. And, when I thought about stopping was when I was doing the injections because they told me I had to do max three a year and I was already in my second one and it was the fourth month of the year. So, I was quite playing like in the limit with that also,” she said.

The Spaniard also mentioned how things started moving from bad to worse amid the clay court season in 2024. She also faced an opening-round defeat in her home event (Madrid Open). This further surrounded her with more doubts about making a healthy comeback.

“I think especially the clay court season was pretty bad for me and also the back was still hurting so in that moment I didn’t really know what to do and yeah I also think especially after my home tournament in Madrid was very tough for me. A mix of back, mentally and everything and that moment I was thinking maybe I’m not made for being back again,” Badosa added.

Paula Badosa incurred a hefty back injury in 2023. Although she faced a significant drop in rankings right after that, numbers show that she is finally getting back on track.

Paula Badosa turns emotional after overcoming the tough challenge against Coco Gauff

Paula Badosa couldn’t hold her emotions back after taking down the third seed Coco Gauff. In her quarterfinal showdown against the American, Badosa kept control over the unforced errors and therefore, didn’t let her opponent take even a single set away from her.

After the win, Badosa expressed excitement over the commendable win and compared it to her previous campaigns in major events.

“I’m a very emotional person and overcoming something like this, the last slam, the quarterfinals were very tough. Today, I came in, I wanted to play my best tennis. I did it. Coco, at the beginning, she was playing insane tennis. I’m super proud of the level I gave today,” she said.

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The WTA star has finally earned her spot in the top 4 and will face Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam