"Pain still there; it's been a hard time" - Paula Badosa pulls out of Canadian Open 2023 before opener as injury struggles continue

Spain's Paula Badosa has pulled out of the Canadian Open 2023 at the last minute as her injury woes have resurfaced.

Badosa sustained a spinal stress fracture during this year's Italian Open, which forced her withdrawal from the French Open. She had shared an update online with her fans, saying:

"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. This is going to keep me out of the competition for some weeks."

The Spaniard, however, made a comeback to the court at Wimbledon in July. Badosa kicked off her return on a positive note as she defeated Alison Riske-Amritraj in the first round. However, she retired from her second-round match against Marta Kostyuk, citing back pain.

"The injury is the same as I have been struggling the past weeks. It’s the stress fracture. I tried my best to try to play here, but yesterday when I woke up I already, after my first round match, felt it again. It’s a little bit worse. So I will need a few days off,” she said after the match.

The former World No. 2 was set to compete at the National Bank Open in Montreal this week, but has now been forced to withdraw from the WTA 1000 event too. Badosa made the announcement on social media, writing:

"Small update: Still trying my best to comeback as soon as possible but pain is still there. I'm going to be some weeks out of the competition. [It has been a hard time] but hopefully I can comeback soon. Thanks for support."

Paula Badosa on Instagram.

The Spaniard was scheduled to meet Beatriz Haddad Maia in her opening match. Haddad Maia will now face off against Magdalena Frech instead.

"My goals are to surpass Paula Badosa's best ranking" - Boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas

Paula Badosa

Paula Badosa's boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas is eyeing the top spot in the ATP rankings. He jokingly stated in a recent interview that he wanted to surpass Badosa's best ranking.

The Spaniard achieved a career-best rank of World No. 2 in April 2022.

"My goals are to surpass Paula's best ranking, which is World No. 2. And to get better than that I am. The good thing about us is that we get competitive in those things in a healthy way so I hope I get to equal it or even better," Tsitsipas said.

The Greek is currently ranked fourth, right behind Daniil Medvedev, in the men's rankings. He won the title in Los Cabos last week by defeating Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

Badosa, meanwhile, is ranked World No. 45 at the moment, a far cry from her career-best.