Badosa Withdraws from Madrid Tournament

Paula Badosa has not managed to recover in time to compete in the WTA 1,000 in Madrid. An hour before her match against Veronika Kudermetova, the Spanish player announced her withdrawal from the tournament, as she has not recovered from the back injury sustained in Miami.

"I wanted to inform you that unfortunately I will not be able to play this Mutua Madrid Open. I have tried everything possible until the last moment because you know how much it means to me to play at home, but it is proving to be a complicated injury. I hope to be 100% soon," Badosa stated on her social media.

Badosa had to withdraw a month ago from the third round in Miami due to a relapse of her chronic back injury. This issue, which has affected her over the past two years and made her consider retirement, also forced her to withdraw from Charleston. Despite her efforts to play at home, she will not be competing in Madrid.

In the capital, where no Spanish player has ever won, Badosa reached the semifinals in 2021, losing to Simona Halep. The Catalan was the only Spanish representative in the final draw after the eliminations of Jessica Bouzas and Cristina Bucsa. Additionally, in the men's draw, where Carlos Alcaraz also withdrew due to injury, only Alejandro Davidovich, who debuts this Friday against Nuno Borges, and Roberto Bautista, who plays the second round against top seed Alexander Zverev, remain.

Badosa's career has been marked by ups and downs, initially due to mental health issues and high expectations placed on her, and later by the chronic back injury that caused her to drop over a hundred places in May last year.

Despite last year's decline, the second half of the season was spectacular, winning the title in Washington, reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open, and nearly qualifying for the WTA Finals. In 2025, Badosa reached the semifinals in Australia, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka, but has struggled to find consistency and health in her body since, winning only six matches since January.

"It's a tough moment, but you know you are capable of returning to where you deserve. The experience of all these years gives me peace. Having an injury is difficult and I don't have the answer or solution. It's hard to manage emotionally, especially because I started so well, feeling it was going to be the year of my career," the tennis player said in her press conference before the tournament began.