Paula Badosa spoke about her back injury ahead of the 2024 Madrid Open and admitted when she would hypothetically retire.
Retirement is not an option for Badosa right now, and she's not even considering it as something in the near future. Yet, with all that belief in herself and her body comes a second side, simply the reality of the situation.
She recently spoke about the reality of the situation, and it's not a pretty great one. She won't have the type of career she hoped to have because the injury she suffered is a pretty complicated one.
She expanded on that ahead of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, where she talked about any hypothetical stopping in the future.
"The back injury I have is complicated and the doctors already told me that I would always have to deal with it, because it is chronic. Feeling zero pain on the court is going to be very difficult for me, but I am handling it in the best possible way and if I manage to compete, it is already a triumph for me."
It's certainly not what any athlete wants to hear because being pain-free is crucial to being the best version of themselves. Being in pain limits performance, which then impacts the career, and that's why many opt for retirement.
Her prognosis isn't that great either because she likely won't be playing for ten more years. She's only 26 and talking about retirement seems to be just too disappointing for her so early on. In the end, she'll stop when she stops believing in herself.
"I know that this year I cannot set high expectations for myself, but I look at the middle term. The day I stop believing in my possibilities of doing important things, I will stop playing."