Paula Badosa has produced a gritty campaign at the 2026 Iași Open, securing her spot in the final of the WTA 250 event. However, the Spaniard’s hard-fought semifinal win over Tamara Zidanšek was overshadowed by controversy as she narrowly avoided a disqualification after her frustrated on-court outburst.
Why Paula Badosa Was Almost Disqualified From the Iași Open
Badosa had a short-lived run at the Wimbledon Championships, suffering a loss to Emma Navarro in their first-round clash. With her time off ahead of the US Open Series, the Spaniard chose to compete at the Swedish Open, winning the WTA 125 title on clay. She then extended her winning streak at the clay-court event in Iași, Romania.
The former world No. 2 defeated No. 4 seed Anhelina Kalinina, Alevtina Ibragimova, and No. 5 seed Panna Udvardy to set up a meeting with Zidanšek in the semifinals. During the closely contested encounter, Badosa bounced back after losing the opening set to force a decider.
However, the Spaniard’s frustration boiled over while serving at 1-1 in the third set, as she sent a routine overhead into the net to fall behind 0-30. In anger, she hurled her racket toward the back of the court, sending it over the fence where it landed just short of the spectators in the stands. The chair umpire promptly issued a code violation warning to the 28-year-old for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Had the racket struck a fan, Badosa would have been immediately disqualified from the match. Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg highlighted the severity of the action while sharing a clip of the incident on social media.
“Paula Badosa was very, very lucky not to get disqualified at WTA 250 Iasi today…,” Rothenberg posted.
Paula Badosa was very, very lucky not to get disqualified at WTA 250 Iasi today…https://t.co/S21BRVhuwf
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 19, 2026
Despite getting her serve broken after her on-court outburst, Badosa quickly regained her composure and broke back to level the scores at 2-2. The momentum continued to swing as both players traded breaks to send the match into a deciding tiebreak, with the Spaniard ultimately claiming a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(1) victory to reach the final.
Paula Badosa is set to battle Mayar Sherif in the title clash at the Iași Open. Although the two players stand level at 1-1 in their head-to-head record, Badosa will head into the final riding a nine-match winning streak as she looks to win her fifth tour-level title.
