Paula Badosa was forced to cut her 2025 Miami Open campaign short after she suffered an injury in her third-round match at the WTA 1000 event.
Badosa is undoubtedly one of the most talented players on the WTA Tour. She once rose to the World No. 2 rank, and the Spaniard has confirmed her talent multiple times on the tennis court.
She has managed to do that even in recent months, despite struggling with her chronic lower back injury every now and then. Badosa is set to return to the Top 10 after the Miami Open, but she won't climb to a higher than ninth spot after her run was cut short by an injury.
Already in her third-round match against Clara Tauson, Badosa struggled with an injury, often seemingly fighting back tears and thoughts about possible retirement. The Spaniard pushed through and incredibly won the match 6-3, 7-6(3).
In the fourth round, she was supposed to take on Alexandra Eala, who is a 19-year-old player. Eala is very talented, but at the same time, she is very inexperienced, and she has never played in the fourth round of a WTA 1000 tournament before.
That's why Badosa was a huge favorite heading into the match, but the Spaniard wasn't able to recover enough to be able to play the match. Her withdrawal was announced by a short statement from the tournament organizers.
"Paula Badosa has withdrawn from the Miami Open, which sends Alexandra Eala into the quarterfinals."
It's another disappointment in Badosa's career. Unfortunately, it seems that her chronic injury might completely derail her tennis career, even though it previously seemed that she has found a way how to play despite her struggles.
Badosa will now turn focus to the clay-court part of the season. As a Spaniard, she can enjoy one WTA 1000 tournament in her home country, and that will be one of her goals this year.
The 2025 Madrid Open will run from April 22nd to May 4th, and like every year, Badosa will want to delight the Spanish fans. However, her participation might not depend only on her. The Spanish player will have to recover from an injury that is possibly untreatable.
On the other hand, 19-year-old Eala will make her maiden quarter-final appearance at a WTA 1000 tournament. The teenager will take on the winner of the match between Iga Swiatek and Elina Svitolina.
Eala was ranked 140th before the Miami Open started, but even a quarter-final appearance won't be enough for her to make a Top 100 debut. Unless she makes it past the quarter-final stage, the teenager would be most likely ranked 101st in the world on Monday.
