"Consequences of such a relentlessly long season";"Terrible day": Fans react to Paula Badosa & Karolina Muchova's mid-match retirements at Ningbo Open
Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova could not finish their semifinal matches at the 2024 Ningbo Open as they retired in the middle of their contests. Their retirement from crucial contests at a WTA 500 tournament drew strong reactions from tennis fans.
The 2024 Ningbo Open semifinal day was delayed for a lengthy time due to heavy rains. Once the showers subsided, Badosa and Daria Kasatkina took to the court to play the first semifinal. The match endured two more rain delays before Kasatkina took the first set 6-4. At the end of the set, the Spaniard called for medical attention and, after a brief checkup, decided to retire from the contest due to dizziness.
Badosa's decision helped Kasatkina reach her sixth WTA 500 final of 2024. The second match of the day featured Karolina Muchova and Mirra Andreeva. The young Russian made a good start, leading 6-2, 1-0. After the first point of the next game, Muchova stopped the play due to a back injury and retired from the match.
The double retirement created a social media stir, with tennis fans giving their take on the incidents in Ningbo. Many fans slammed the WTA Tour for its relentless scheduling, which they believe forced Badosa and Muchova to tire out and retire.
"The players are either withdrawing from exhaustion/injury or having mid-match tantrums complaining about how exhausted they are maybe time to stop adding tournaments and weeks to the schedule? @WTA @atptour" a fan said.
"LOL, it's endless and will never stop and is a constant thorn in why the sport is a living joke at the pro level," wrote anther fan.
"Badosa and Muchova retiring? Terrible day for the sport," a fan tweeted.
"What a really tragic day for the tour. These are the consequences of such a relentlessly long season; fans leave disappointed, players leave injured physically and psychologically. No real winners," a fan stated.
Some fans were saddened by another injury/physical setback for Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova, who have endured and braved many injuries throughout their careers. A fan also opined that rain delays and the weather could have influenced the duo's decision.
"That's just not fair. 2 players who would easily be top 10 if their bodies would hold up," a fan said.
"Both players looked tired and weather and delays don’t help," another fan commented.
"Karolina Muchova ending her season because of/with an injury...... there's something poetic about it.....," a fan wrote.
On a light note, a fan also pointed out that an all-Russian final between Daria Kasatkina and Mirra Andreeva at the Ningbo Open will create good content for the former's YouTube vlogging channel.
"Muchova and Badosa both decided to give What The Vlog diehards the final they wanted," a fan posted on X.
Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova have been top performers on the WTA Tour since the Paris Olympics
Notwithstanding their latest retirement at the Ningbo Open, Karolina Muchova and Paula Badosa have been the top performers on the WTA Tour since the 2024 Paris Olympics, which concluded on August 4. Paula Badosa did not compete at the Olympics but instead opted to play at the 2024 Citi Open in Washington, DC, which was held during the same period.
The decision paid off for the former World No. 2 as she won her fourth title, and first since 2022, at the WTA 500 tournament by beating Marie Bouzkova in the final. Paula Badosa backed up the performance with a semifinal finish at the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open, a quarterfinal at the US Open, and a semifinal at the WTA 1000 China Open.
Unlike Badosa, Karolina Muchova competed at the Paris Olympics. After the Olympics, Muchova rediscovered her prime to reach the semifinals at the US Open for the second year in a row. She continued her great form at the China Open, where she bettered Aryna Sabalenka to reach her second WTA 1000 final. Unfortunately, she came up short against Coco Gauff.