MADRID – One of the most surprising statistics of Roger Federer’s career is that he never abandoned a match due to injury. The Swiss took to the court 1,526 times and never had to approach the net to shake his opponent’s hand early: he won 1,251 matches and lost the other 275. But Federer is far from the norm. Quite the contrary: he is the exception.
Retiring due to injury is an everyday occurrence in the world of tennis. It is a sport that takes a heavy toll on the body, constantly pushing muscles and joints to their limits. In every match, yes, but also in every training session. And no matter how much you prepare, no matter how much you take care of yourself, sometimes something inside you just “snaps”. That is precisely what happened to Paula Badosa on 12 May 2023 while playing in the Rome tournament. A vertebra in her back, specifically the L-4, broke. A stress fracture.
That was the beginning of an ordeal that still haunts her in every match today, almost three years later. And the worst thing for the 28-year-old is that she will never be rid of that ghost. It is a chronic injury. The Spanish tennis player, ranked number two in the world in 2022, has periods when the pain subsides, but sooner or later it always comes back. ‘Playing for another three or four years would be incredible,’ Badosa said at the beginning of 2024, after visiting doctors around the world and hearing practically the same thing from all of them. That competing at the highest level with that injury was a pipe dream.
Badosa, as anyone who has seen a couple of her matches knows, is stubborn. She is someone who does not give up at the first or second hurdle. The devastating conclusions of the doctors – ‘They told me it was going to be very difficult to continue my career’ – did not dampen her spirits either. Badosa clung to cortisone injections and painkillers to keep fighting. After finishing 2023 in 66th place in the WTA rankings, she climbed to 12th in December 2024, just before reaching her first Grand Slam semi-final at the 2025 Australian Open.
That recovery, however, has been punctuated by numerous relapses. For every three steps forward, there was one step back. Since breaking her vertebra, Badosa has withdrawn from competition nine times, not to mention all the tournaments she has missed due to injury. Seeing her withdraw in the middle of a tournament is no longer surprising, and she is fed up with being reminded of her history every time she drops out of an event.
A few days ago, after announcing that she would not be able to participate in the WTA 1000 in Dubai, a user on X accused her of being ‘disrespectful’. ‘Paula Badosa is very disrespectful to the sport. You can’t withdraw or drop out of every tournament,’ he posted on X.
Badosa read it and replied, explaining that hers is not a lack of respect, but an excess of resilience, a willingness to keep going when your body tells you not to.
‘You have no idea what it’s like to live with a chronic injury and still keep going. Waking up every day not knowing how your body will respond, looking for solutions and fighting for something you love and giving it your all even when it’s so difficult,’ wrote the Spanish tennis player, currently ranked 70th in the world.
“Believe me, I’m the first to suffer pain and have endless nightmares trying to find solutions every day, and for me, after all, stepping onto a tennis court is always worth it. So I’ll keep trying. Because the key is to try, and that won’t change. I’ll always try one more time. I do this for my passion and for myself. And if there is a 1% chance of moving forward, I take it. That’s how I see and understand life. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to follow me. And I’m sorry to inform you that I’m not retiring, so you’ll be seeing me for a while. Change the channel next time.”
