"Our bodies aren't like a man's" - Paula Badosa suggests women aren't 'prepared' to play best-of-5 sets, cites periods as a factor

Paula Badosa recently insinuated that women's tennis wasn't ready to transition into best-of-five sets — the format for men's tennis, at Grand Slams. The Spaniard believes menstruation is a factor that affects female players' recovery after matches.

The former World No. 2 is currently competing at the 2024 Citi Open in Washington D.C., USA, where she won her first-round match 6-1, 7-6(8) against Sofia Kenin. She will next face third-seeded Liudmila Samsonova for a place in the last eight on Thursday (August 8).

While speaking to the media this week, the 26-year-old was asked about the prospect of women playing best-of-five sets. The format was employed at the WTA Finals from 1984 to 1998.

In her response, Paula Badosa opined that unlike men, who have been playing best-of-five sets since time immemorial, women have to endure periods, which puts constraints on their recovery in between matches.

"I personally don’t think women are prepared to play 5 sets. Also because of what we go through. For example, we go through periods," Paula Badosa said (via TennisONE App). "Our bodies aren’t like a man’s body. So I really think a woman wouldn’t recover as well as a man does."

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Paula Badosa: "We tried cortisone injections... doctors said this is the only option"

Paula Badosa hits a forehand at Wimbledon

Paula Badosa struggled with a stress fracture in her back for a large part of 2023, which contributed to her pulling out from three of the four Majors. Earlier this year, the Spaniard disclosed that her doctors had told her that prolonging her career would be "very complicated". She also admitted that she had been taking cortisone injections to get her through matches lately.

"Honestly, I have goosebumps again, because in Indian Wells the doctors told me it’ll be very complicated to continue my career," Badosa told WTA Insider in April. "And I said, okay, I need a solution – something. So you know, we tried these injections – cortisone. And they said, this is the only option we can give you and maybe you will have to keep doing that if you want to play for a few more years."

The 26-year-old has experienced an upswing in her results on the WTA Tour since making the above admission. She has won 11 of her last 15 matches; her best runs include making it to the Round-of-16 at Wimbledon and the Italian Open, and the quarterfinals of the Bad Homburg Open.

If Badosa wins her second-round match against Samsonova in Washington, she will next take on Emma Raducanu.