Paula Badosa won't compete at the 2025 Indian Wells Open after she was forced to withdraw because of an injury.
Badosa has struggled to find her top level for months. The reason was her chronic back injury, which has bothered her for a very long time, making it impossible for her to compete.
Because of that injury, the former WTA World No. 2 player even considered retiring from the sport, but she kept fighting and made it back to the Top 10, where she certainly belongs.
But in recent weeks, Badosa started struggling with a lower back injury again. She was forced to retire from her quarter-final match at the Merida Open despite leading against Daria Saville.
After that, the 27-year-old's next tournament was the Indian Wells Open, which she won back in 2021. Prior to the event in the Californian desert, Badosa even signed up for the Eisenhower Cup, which is a mixed doubles exhibition.
She was supposed to team up with her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas, but the Spaniard withdrew shortly before the exhibition, and her boyfriend soon followed. The duo was then replaced by Daniil Medvedev and Amanda Anisimova.
Fans hoped that Badosa would be able to recover in time for the Indian Wells Open, but that didn't happen. One day before her second-round match against Caroline Dolehide, the Spaniard announced her withdrawal from the tournament.
The tournament organizers confirmed that the reason was a lower back injury, and Badosa also provided a statement. She was sad to miss the tournament that she managed to win before.
"I'm very sorry to withdraw from one of my favorite tournaments. I tried until the last moment to play. I am really sad and hopefully will be back next year!"
Although Badosa's fans will certainly be devastated after hearing the news, there is at least one person who will have a reason to celebrate. Eva Lys will replace the Spaniard as a lucky loser, and even though she won't be happy to hear about her colleagues' injury, she will be happy to make it into the main draw.
Lys lost in the final round of the qualifying to compatriot Jule Niemeier. But with the withdrawal of the 11th-seeded player, she will move straight to the second round thanks to a first-round bye, taking on Dolehide.
Badosa, on the other hand, will now want to focus on recovery. Considering how late she withdrew from the tournament, it's possible that she's not very far from making a full recovery.
That would mean that the upcoming Miami Open could be a realistic goal for the Spanish player. The WTA 1000 event at the Hard Rock Stadium starts on March 18th and runs until March 30th.
If Badosa misses that tournament as well, her likely target will be her home WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid. The 2025 Madrid Open starts on April 22nd.
