The series of disappointing results for Paula Badosa continues as another campaign ended abruptly due to her chronic injuries. She participated in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and had to retire from her round of 32 match due to her recurring back injury.
This defeat came just one week after she withdrew from the Qatar Open, citing hip discomfort as the reason. Following the match, one fan pointed sharp criticism at Badosa for withdrawing from almost every tournament, which made her furious as she explained the entire scenario.
Paula Badosa Lashes Out After Troll Calls Out Her Dubai Withdrawal
The Spaniard faced the seventh seed of the WTA 1000 tournament, an in-form Elina Svitolina, on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The World No. 70 opened strongly, breaking the Ukrainian early to take a 4-1 lead, before Svitolina bounced back to mount an impressive comeback.
She broke the Spaniard twice to win six of the last seven games and won five consecutive games to take the set. Before the second set could start, Basoda had to retire from the match due to recurring back problems that had plagued a large part of her recent career.
However, one person did not find it a convincing enough reason to retire from a match. Talking to X, they expressed their feelings, stating that Badosa is “so disrespectful to the game, you just cannot retire/withdraw from every tournament.” This tweet reached the Spaniard’s feed, who replied to it, writing,
“You have no idea what it’s like to live with a chronic injury and still choose to keep going. To wake up every day not knowing how your body will respond, searching for solutions, and fighting for something you love and give everything, even when it’s so difficult.”
She then talked about how desperately she wants to get a solution for this issue, adding, “Trust me, I’m the first one suffering with pain and having endless nightmares to try to find solutions every single day, and for me, after all, stepping on a tennis court, makes it worth everything every time. So I’ll keep trying. Because it’s all about trying, and that won’t change. I’ll always try one more time.”
The Spaniard showed the resilience and determination that have defined her career, stating, “I’m doing this for my passion and for myself. And if there’s even a 1% chance to keep going, I’ll take it. That’s just how I see and understand life.” She then lashed out completely at the troll, firing back at him: “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to follow me.
And I’m so sorry to inform you, I won’t retire, so you’ll keep seeing me for a while. Change the channel next time.”
This fiery response from Badosa showed how she deals with criticism and medical issues at the same time. She does not care about what the others think of her and is focused entirely on her gameplay, rather than trying to please everyone.
Badosa’s Concerning Lack of Form Continues in 2026
This injury first surfaced at the 2023 Italian Open in Rome when Badosa suffered a spinal stress fracture. She had to manage constant pain while restricting her schedule and relied completely on medical interventions to continue competing. Doctors initially warned her that if she continued to play professionally, it would get too complicated and would also shorten her career significantly.
Adding to the already existing issues, she sustained a new back injury, tearing her psoas muscle, which connects the lower back to the leg, which forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon and return for just 1 match in September before retiring from the second round in the China Open.
She has openly discussed the toll this medical condition has taken on her, describing it as “constant suffering” at times. She was instructed by the medical staff to reduce her participation on the hard courts to reduce the spinal impact.
This series of withdrawals, retirements, and losses has caused Badosa to lose valuable ranking points, sliding down in the WTA list and currently sitting at World No. 70.
However, including the Spaniard, a total of 13 players have either withdrawn or retired before the round of 16 of Dubai, including top seeds like Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Świątek, as well as recent Doha finalists Karolína Muchová and Victoria Mboko.
Svitolina, on the other hand, would take on the ninth seed, Belinda Bencic, in the round of 16 today, on Feb. 18.
