Paula Badosa has accepted that she will “retire young” but also highlights that she remains “very stubborn” and therefore won’t call it a career until the doctors tell her that she reached the stage where there is nothing else left other than going under the knife.
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In the spring of 2024, the Spanish tennis star – who was 26 at the time – shared that her persistent back injury was diagnosed as a chronic issue and that she was advised to retire. However, since she was also offered a new treatment for her back, she didn’t want to walk away from pro tennis until at least giving it another shot.
For the rest of 2024, Badosa’s back held up pretty well and she even started the 2025 season by making her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open. But since then, her back has been causing her major problems as she has withdrawn from several tournaments and also had a mid-match retirement in Merida.
Badosa: I’m going to retire young and the next day I will be on the surgery table
“I have no choice [but to keep going], I’m very stubborn. For me to retire, the doctors would have to tell me, and I am in daily contact with them. I have told him many times: ‘until you operate on me and there is no solution, I will continue with the infiltrations’, even knowing how bad they feel and how harmful they are to the body,” the world No. 10 told Eurosport Espana.
In November, Badosa will turn 28. When revealing her diagnosis last year, she indicated that she didn’t have more than three or four years left in tennis.
“Having such a strong character has helped me to accept this over time, I know that I am going to retire young and the next day I will go straight to the operating room,” Badosa added.