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Many in the tennis world have reacted to Paula Badosa's announcement of her decision to withdraw from the French Open 2023. Badosa is recovering from a stress fracture to her spine that she suffered during the Italian Open 2023.
The Spanish star's withdrawal is particularly ill-timed given her recent good form. Highlighting her progress on the court, Badosa stated in a social media post on Wednesday that the injury is going to keep her out of tournaments for the next few weeks.
"Just when everything seemed to be fine again, I received bad news just before starting a Grand Slam. At the tournament in Rome I suffered a stress fracture in my spine. It has been very hard news after such a difficult start of the season with injuries," Badosa wrote.
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"This is going to keep me out of the competition for some weeks. Thanks to all of you who are with me no matter what. I’ll keep you updated," she added.
Paula Badosa's peers reacted to the news with messages of encouragement. World No. 6 Coco Gauff commented on Badosa's Instagram post, saying she was sorry to hear about her withdrawal and that she wished her a speedy recovery.
"Sorry to hear this Paula! get well soon!" Gauff wrote.
Former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez echoed a similar message. The Canadian expressed hope that Badosa nurses her injury quickly and gets back on the tour as soon as possible.
"Sorry to hear that! Get well soon! You'll be back in no time," Fernandez commented.
Several tennis fans were left distraught by Badosa's announcement, especially given the fact that injuries had also forced her to pull out of the Australian Open 2023. One fan joked that the 'Netflix curse' is back for the second Grand Slam of the year.
The 'Netflix curse' is a fan theory that the players featured in Netflix's tennis docuseries 'Breakpoint' would suffer major setbacks ahead of and during the Australian Open 2023.
"Netflix curse returns for Roland Garros," a fan wrote.
"After missing the AusOpen, Paula Badosa has to withdraw from Roland Garros as well. Was playing so well in this clay season…," tennis journalist Jose Morgado tweeted.
"A major contender out of the French Open," another fanrwrote.
"Damn this is so unfortunate," a fan commented.
Paula Badosa looked in good touch ahead of French Open 2023
Paula Badosa had seemingly regained her best tennis during the clay swing. She reached the quarterfinals in three of the last four tournaments - the Charleston Open, the Stuttgart Open and the Italian Open. This run included wins over top 10 players like Ons Jabeur (No. 4 seed in Rome) and Daria Kasatkina (No. 7 seed in Stuttgart).
Overall in the 2023 season, Badosa has won 17 out of 25 matches. She looked set to enter the French Open 2023 riding on this good form, but injuries have once again hampered her progress.
Badosa, seeded 31 in Paris, will now be replaced by a lucky loser.
