Paula Badosa's connection with her fans has been a source of inspiration since aggravating serious injuries that have curtailed her participation in the second half of the season.
Badosa's 2023 season began brightly with a semifinal run at the Adelaide International 2. Sadly, that event set the tone of a trainwreck of a season due to injuries. Badosa withdrew from her scheduled semifinal due to groin pain and after undergoing scans, she confirmed she would be missing the Australian Open.
It took her precisely a month before she stepped on the court again. She lost twice during the brief stop in the Middle East and had to wait until mid-March when she picked up her first win in two months in Indian Wells. Badosa's progress at the Sunshine Swing was halted by an in-form Elena Rybakina, both in California and Miami - in the latter spurning a match point.
It wasn't until the clay-court swing that Badosa was able to string wins together. She reached back-to-back quarterfinals in Charleston and Stuttgart. While in Madrid, she scored a stunning upset, demolishing Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-0. Her best achievement in 2023 was in reaching the quarterfinal of the WTA 1000 in Rome.
But it proved to be a pyrrhic run as Badosa sustained a spinal stress fracture that ruled her out from the 2023 French Open. She chose to play at Wimbledon without any notable match preparation at any tune-up events. Although she won her first-round match in straight sets, the Spaniard's back problems resurfaced in her second-round match.
Badosa was forced to retire from her match against Marta Kostyuk in order to undergo elaborate treatment plans. She made efforts to appear during the US swing and waited until the very last minute to ascertain her fitness, and realized she was still feeling pain. Badosa missed the entire North American hard-court summer including the US Open. Consequently, she shut down her season.
In her time away from the courts, the former World No. 2 reminisces about how much she has missed the competition and tennis, and that she's already eyeing a comeback next season. In her recent update on X, Badosa thanked her fans for their unwavering support.
"I miss tennis sooooooo much. And I wanted to give a special thank you to everyone here that supports me and that sends me kind messages. Makes me very happy in this moments."
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