"One of the worst news of my career" - Paula Badosa looks back on her injury diagnosis 1 year ago after positive French Open 2024 campaign
Paula Badosa concluded her campaign at the 2024 French Open after losing her third-round contest. She faced defeat at the hands of Aryna Sabalenka.
Badosa was broken in the first game of the first set, but she broke Sabalenka back in the next game to level the score. Both players exchanged plenty of breaks in the set, which Sabalenka managed to eke out. The Belarusian then rushed through the second set, breaking Badosa thrice to win the match 7-5, 6-1.
Before her third-round loss, the Spaniard showed impressive grit in her first two matches. She came back from a set down to defeat 26th seed Katie Boulter 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, and Yulia Putintseva 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. After her defeat against Sabalenka, Badosa took to Instagram to reflect on her campaign, which was one full of "positives."
In her post, the 26-year-old looked back on her tough road to recovery after suffering a stress fracture in her spine just before the 2023 French Open, which forced her to withdraw from the tournament. She counted herself fortunate to fully recover and compete once again in front of French fans.
"One year ago they gave me one of the worst news of my career, had to stop for many months of playing tennis. I watched this tournament from the couch with a lot of pain and without knowing what was the future holding for me. A year after I had the opportunity to play again in front of all of you again," Paula Badosa wrote.
The former World No. 2 thanked her team, family, and fans for sticking by her throughout the "very difficult journey" and took a lot of positives from her matches at the clay slam.
She continued, "It’s been a very difficult journey but I had the best people by my side during this period. I wanted to thank my team, family and fans for being there at my toughest moments. So after all I take the positives of this week and really grateful to be back at @rolandgarros 🧡 life is not easy, but it’s beautiful. See you soon xx."
Badosa to play mixed doubles with boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas at French Open 2024
Paula Badosa's time at the 2024 French Open has not concluded, as she is yet to play her mixed doubles match at the clay slam. The Spaniard has partnered with her boyfriend and ATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas to compete in the mixed doubles category.
In the opening round, they will face off against experienced doubles duo Nathaniel Lammons and Ena Shibahara. Badosa and Tsitsipas have been in a relationship for a year. They linked up last year around the French Open and have been in the spotlight of the tennis world since.
They briefly ended their relationship at the beginning of May 2024 but have since reunited and have been spotted together on numerous occasions at Stade Roland Garros.