Spanish women’s No. 1 Paula Badosa has announced her withdrawal from the Madrid Open the day after Spanish men’s No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz pulled out himself. The news comes as a devastating blow for the home fans hoping to catch a glimpse of their native stars at the Caja Magica over the next two weeks.
Badosa has been nursing a back injury which prevented her from playing at the Indian Wells Masters and saw her quit at the Miami Open after making it to the last 16. She had hoped to recover in time to compete on Spanish soil, but a social media statement released on Friday confirmed that things had not gone to plan.
She wrote: “Hey everyone, I wanted to let you know that unfortunately I won’t be able to play Mutua Madrid Open. I’ve tried to do everything possible until the last moment because you know how excited I am to play at home, but it’s being a complicated injury. I hope to be 100% soon. Big hug, Paula.”
Badosa’s place has been taken by lucky loser Cristina Bucsa – another Spanish competitor – who kicks off her campaign against Veronika Kudermetova on Friday.
Madrid Open organisers have taken two painful hits this week, with Badosa’s announcement coming after Alcaraz’s bombshell press conference. There, the four-time Grand Slam winner revealed that the groin and hamstring issues he had been suffering with during his Barcelona Open final defeat against Holger Rune last weekend are still causing problems.
“I couldn’t practice the entire week and found out I had hamstring and groin injuries,” he said. “I needed to listen to my body and make the right decision.
“On Monday I’ll have more medical tests and after that we will have a better idea on how long I’ll be out. It hurts me not to be able to play here in Madrid in front of my people, my friends and my family.”
There will still be plenty of high-quality action for Madrid Open spectators to sink their teeth into. Although Alcaraz is injured and Jannik Sinner is still serving a doping suspension, the likes of Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper and Daniil Medvedev are all at the tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula are the big hitters on the women’s side of the draw, where British hopeful Emma Raducanu faces Marta Kostyuk in the second round on Friday.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk