Paula Badosa confirms ‘bad news’ ahead of Roland Garros
Paula Badosa has suffered another heartbreaking blow after she was forced to withdraw from the French Open due to injury – making it the second Grand Slam in a row that she will miss because of injury.
The Spaniard was also forced to skip the Australian Open at the start of the year due to a thigh problem and her injury woes have returned as she picked up a spine stress fracture during her run to the quarter-final of the Italian Open.
“Just when everything seemed to be fine again, I received bad news just before starting a Grand Slam,” the world No 29 wrote.
“At the tournament in Rome I suffered a stress fracture in my spine. It has been very hard news after such a difficult start to the year with injuries.
“This is going to keep me out of the competition for a few weeks. Thanks to all of you who are always with me. I will inform you.”
💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/LPHgjtcSYv
— Paula Badosa (@paulabadosa) May 25, 2023
Badosa climbed to No 11 in the WTA Rankings after reaching the quarter-final of the season-opening Adelaide International, but then slumped outside the top 20 after missing the Australian Open.
She eventually returned at the Middle-East hard-court swing, but her struggled to reach her best form. However, there were glimpses of her old self during the clay campaign as she reached the quarter-finals in Charleston, Stuttgart and Rome.
The 25-year-old – a former French Open quarter-finalist – will slip further down the rankings as she reached the third round at Roland Garros last year.
She reached a career-high of No 2 in the WTA Rankings in April last year with most of her points propped up by the Indian Wells Open title that she won in October 2021.
It remains to be seen if she will be fit for the grass-court season. Last year she reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon, losing against Simona Halep in two sets.
Halep, Emma Raducanu, Ajla Tomljanovic, Amanda Anisimova and Jennifer Brady are some of the other top names who will be missing from the main draw of this year clay-court Grand Slam in Paris.
READ MORE: 2023 French Open: When does it take place, who are absent, draw, daily schedule, TV channels, prize money
