Paula Badosa has had a rough season. The Spanish former world No. 2 has fought her way back into the top 10 despite battling a chronic lower back issue. This injury forced her to withdraw from several tournaments this year, including the Miami Open, Indian Wells, Madrid, and Rome. She also retired mid-match at the Berlin Open, later sharing a heartbreaking tweet: “I’m so tired of this. ❤️‍🩹” After her setback at Wimbledon, it looks like she’ll be sidelined for a while, and Spanish legend Francesc Orriols is feeling her pain.

On July 16, Orriols shared a heartfelt message for Paula. Reflecting on her journey, he wrote, “[Translated from Spanish] I really feel bad about what happened to the great @paulabadosa. I’ve known her since she was little, and she has a great love for tennis. If that weren’t the case, with her lumbar spine in such bad shape, she would have already retired from tennis. Now it’s been the psoas. Stay strong, Paula. Keep going.” It’s clear he believes in her fighting spirit, but why has this been so tough?

The Spaniard’s injury saga has dragged on painfully long. In May 2023, during the Italian Open second round against Ons Jabeur, she suffered a stress fracture in her L4/L5 vertebrae. Weeks later, she had to miss the French Open. Despite the expected 8-12 week recovery, she retired again mid-match at Wimbledon’s second round versus Marta Kostyuk. In July, her comeback was cut short just three days before her US Open first-round match against Venus Williams, ending her season prematurely.

Since then, Paula Badosa has missed six tournaments and three of the last five Grand Slams. Her ranking plunged to No. 140, showing the physical toll hidden beneath the surface. She admitted taking cortisone injections to keep going: “I was doing the injections because they told me I had to do max three a year, and I was already on my second one. It was the fourth month of the year. I was quite playing like in the limit with that also.” The struggles even led her to consider quitting tennis, revealing just how tough this journey has been.

After her Wimbledon exit, the pain hit especially hard. Badosa lost 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to Katie Boulter in the first round earlier this month. She later revealed she’d suffered a tear in her psoas muscle—the one linking her lower back to her leg—before Wimbledon. “These are really challenging times for me but I’m staying hopeful that things will turn around soon and the light at the end of the tunnel will start to shine through,” she wrote.

Through it all, Paula keeps pushing. But she’s had moments where she’s been honest about needing to take a step back.

Paula Badosa makes a shocking admission on her journey

Back in February, Paula laid her heart bare at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, opening up about the relentless injuries that nearly pushed her out of tennis. “I was close, I was close to retirement. What kept me going is that I always had that faith in myself of keep believing, like just give it one more try, one more try. And I think also what kept me going was the passion I have for tennis. I love it,” she told The National. Her honesty was striking—never one to shy away from tough topics.

Reflecting on her journey post-Madrid, Badosa shared how pivotal changes gave her the mental edge: “After Madrid was really tough, but I remember making a few changes in my team and mentally I think I’m that kind of personality or character that when I have tough moments, I bring the best out of me, and it’s when I have more strength. So for me, going through that phase in my career and then doing what I did after a few months, I’m incredibly proud of myself.” That’s the trademark resilience of a champion, refusing to quit even when the odds stacked high.

Her rapid rise from World No. 70 to No. 2 in under a year brought not just glory but a tidal wave of expectation. “It’s different [compared to how I feel now]. In that moment it was very extreme for me, because I went from nobody, let’s say, 70 in the world, and less than a year I was two. For me it was, wow, all of a sudden everyone knows me, I’m a big target, a lot of expectations that I wasn’t used to,” Badosa admitted, revealing the whirlwind that comes with being a sudden superstar.

Now, after a defiant climb back into the top 10 with an electrifying AO finish, Paula Badosa stands at another crossroads. While she may not return before the US Open in August, you can almost feel the energy building for her comeback. Will the Spaniard return with all her fire and reclaim her place among the game’s elite? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!