Paula Badosa made a late decision to withdraw from the Wuhan Open after being in the headlines for the wrong reasons during the previous 24 hours.
The previous tournament at the China Open had been a positive one for Badosa. She reached the semifinal of the penultimate WTA 1000 event of 2024 in Beijing and played much great tennis.
Badosa's run in the Chinese capital included an outstanding victory against Jessica Pegula to progress to the quarterfinals, dismantling this year's US Open runner-up 6-4, 6-0 after an almost flawless performance.
Although making the semifinal was a great achievement, Badosa missed a golden opportunity to reach the final. The Spaniard had chances to go a set and a double-break up against Coco Gauff but ended up losing.
Badosa penned an emotional message to her fans after that defeat, showing how much the defeat hurt her. However, the China Open semifinalist was also proud of her achievements during the event.
The 26-year-old had made new fans in China after her impressive performances. Unfortunately, that goodwill and warmth towards Badosa may be gone after she became embroiled in a racism controversy a few days after the tournament in Beijing ended.
Badosa's coach, Pol Toledo Balague, shared a picture on social media of her appearing to make a pulled-eye gesture using chopsticks she was given at a restaurant in Beijing. Gestures like that are often deliberately made by those who are bigoted toward Asian people.
After the picture was shared, Badosa and her coach were immediately and fiercely criticized on social media. Balague eventually deleted the picture due to the backlash, but the damage was already done.
Badosa first broke her silence on the issue by saying she was playing around with her wrinkles and not actually imitating Asian people. She also called Asians "one of my favorite people."
The Spaniard posted further about the subject when the anger directed at her continued. Badosa said she was unaware that the gesture she made was racist and promised to learn from her mistake.
Another high-profile tournament taking place in China while that controversy occurred was the worst possible timing for Badosa. The Wuhan Open is the final WTA 1000 event on the calendar.
Badosa was scheduled to face two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round. It is unclear what kind of reception she would have received in her first match since being accused of racism.
However, that will remain unknown after Badosa made a very late decision to withdraw from the Wuhan Open. Play had already begun on Day 2 of the tournament, and Badosa's match was due to start in a matter of hours.
Badosa cited a gastrointestinal illness as the reason for her withdrawal. She was replaced in the draw by the lucky loser Lucia Bronzetti, who was on-site to take advantage of the late move.
Some might feel the illness reason is a cover for Badosa not wanting to play in front of a Chinese crowd after the controversy over her picture, but it is impossible to know for sure if that is true.
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