'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Paula Badosa's horrendous luck with injuries continues as she has now withdrawn from the 2024 Indian Wells Open.
Prior to her first-round match at the 2024 Indian Wells Open against Ashlyn Krueger, Paula Badosa participated in an exhibition event on March 5 called the Eisenhower Cup, also known as Tiebreaker Tens, alongside her boyfriend and Greek ATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas. The couple delighted the crowd in the Californian desert and reached the final.
After that appearance, Badosa announced her withdrawal from the tournament due to an injury. This led to fans questioning her participation in the Tiebreaker Tens, and many wondered if she was aware of any physical issues before playing in the exhibition event.
To say that Paula Badosa's participation in the Tiebreaker Tens led to her withdrawal from the Indian Wells Open might not be fair. It is safe to assume that she would not have played alongside Tsitsipas if she had an inkling about an injury that would keep her out of the main draw action. After all, the Spaniard has fond memories of the tournament, having won the biggest title in her career at the 2021 Indian Wells Open.
It is more likely that playing the Tiebreaker Tens exacerbated a previous injury and stopped her from playing a competitive match. From another point of view, it is also possible that Paula Badosa saw the Eisenhower Cup as a perfect warmup opportunity and wanted to gauge her fitness and readiness for a match that would require her to give it all.
While it was a friendly competition, the 26-year-old put on a good show in the Tiebreaker Tens. However, she concluded that her body was not ready for the rigors of a tour-level match and decided to pull out instead.
In a way, Badosa playing at the exhibition event was a good thing. It prevented one more mid-match retirement from the Spaniard and handed a chance to another player, Nadia Podoroska in this case, who could play a match at a WTA 1000 tournament. Podoroska will make her debut at the Indian Wells Open.
Paula Badosa has withdrawn from four tournaments in 2024 so far
Paula Badosa has not been fully fit in 2024. She strung together a few weeks of consistent action on the WTA Tour in early January. At the Adelaide International, she lost to Bernarda Pera in the opening round, and at the Australian Open, she bettered Taylor Townsend and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova before losing to Amanda Anisimova. However, since then, she has withdrawn from four tournaments.
She retired from the Hua Hin Championships mid-match during the second round and withdrew from the Abu Dhabi Open ahead of the first-round match. The World No. 73 then suffered an injury during her contest against Lulu Sun at the Dubai Tennis Championships that stopped her from finishing the match.
Now, her absence from Indian Wells makes it four tournaments in just over a month that the former World No. 2 has pulled out of. She would be hoping to be fully recuperated for the WTA 1000 Miami Open, which begins in two weeks.
