Paula Badosa withdraws from French Open 2023

Paula Badosa has revealed that she suffered a stress fracture in her spine which would keep her out of action for a few weeks, thus confirming her absence from the French Open.

Badosa is yet to compete at a Grand Slam in 2023. The Spaniard missed the Australian Open due to a right abductor injury she suffered at the Adelaide International 2. Now she will be unable to play at the French Open too after sustaining a stress fracture in her spine during the Italian Open.

Badosa shared the disappointing news on Instagram.

"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.

"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.

Badosa produced some promising performances during the claycourt season, most notably reaching the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.

Paula Badosa has won 17 out of 25 matches so far in 2023

Paula Badosa in action at the Italian Open

Paula Badosa has won 17 out of 25 matches so far this season. The 25-year-old had a strong start as she reached the semifinals of the Adelaide International 2 before pulling out due to a right abductor injury.

The remainder of her summer hardcourt season was far from impressive but she produced some pretty good performances on clay, starting with quarterfinal runs in Charleston and Stuttgart.

At the latter tournament, Badosa beat Daria Kasatkina and Cristina Bucsa and followed it up by putting up a tough fight against Aryna Sabalenka before losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. The Spaniard reached the fourth round of the Madrid Open after thrashing sixth seed Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-0.

This was followed by what has been Badosa's best performance of 2023 so far in terms of matches won, at the Italian Open. She reached the quarterfinals following wins over Anna-Lena Friedsam, Ons Jabeur, Marta Kostyuk and Karolina Muchova before losing to Jelena Ostapenko. Badosa's run in Rome saw her rise six spots up to 29th in the WTA rankings.

The Spaniard will be replaced by a lucky loser following her withdrawal from the French Open.