"It's always sad and frustrating" - Paula Badosa makes her feelings known on being 'forced to retire' in Miami due to painful injury

Paula Badosa recently shared her honest feelings about her forced retirement from the Miami Open 2025. The Spaniard is currently gearing up for the upcoming tournaments of the 2025 season.

Badosa was last seen in action on June 20 at the quarter-final round of the Grass Court Championships. In this round, she competed against Wang Xinyu but fell short of advancing further as she was forced to retire during the match after the first set, citing an injury.

Following this, the Chinese bagged the win and advanced to the semifinal of the tournament. This wasn't the first time Badosa had to walk over amid the match due to an injury; she faced the same experience at the Miami Open 2025.

In the Miami Open, the Spaniard reached the third round of the tournament, where she was slated to compete against the likes of Alexandra Eala; however, she had to withdraw from the match due to injury. Weeks after this incident, she discussed her walkover in her recent conversation with Elle magazine.

When asked about the match, she said that it was very 'sad' and 'frustrating' for her to retire. Revealing the details of the match and expressing her emotions, she said,

"I had reached the fourth round; I saw myself playing very well and aspiring to do great things in major tournaments. It was tough. When you're forced to retire, it's always sad and frustrating. You feel a lot of helplessness and say to yourself: "I don't deserve this." But I'm also a person who believes that everything happens for a reason and that there's always something better to come. So, although the hours afterward are tough, like the phoenix, you always rise again," said Paula Badosa.

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Paula Badosa opened up about the goals she focuses on

In the aforementioned interview, Paula Badosa spoke about various aspects of her life and her career, including the goals she is currently focusing on. She revealed that she is currently focusing on her short-term goal of staying away from injuries.

Along with this, talking about the long-term goals, she revealed that she wants to return to the position of being among the best in the world.

"In the short term, that the injury spares me, that's what I always ask for. And in the long term, to return to where I was, among the best in the world. I started the year very well, reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, a Grand Slam, which is ultimately what I play and fight for," said Paula Badosa.

However, analyzing her injuries and situation, she admitted that achieving something great in important tournaments of the 2025 season 'doesn't make sense.' Talking about the 2026 season, she added:

"But let's be honest and face reality. It doesn't make sense to think about doing something really great in 2025 in the most important tournaments, but it does make sense to do well and look to the future, to matches like the US Open and to Australia for next year, when I'm fit."

Paula Badosa kickstarted her 2025 season by competing at the Brisbane International, where she fell short of advancing further than the first round after being bested by Elina Avanesyan.

Edited by Tushhita Barua