"There are days when I feel worse than others" - Paula Badosa opens about living with the pain of her chronic back injury after Wimbledon 3R win

Following her third-round win at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Paula Badosa opened up about her struggles of dealing with her chronic back injury. She also talked about the challenges of living with constant pain and admitted that some days "feels worse" than others due to the severity of her condition.

Badosa used a protected ranking to secure a spot in the main draw of the Grasscourt Major. She kicked off her campaign with a convincing victory over Karolina Muchova, defeating her 6-3, 6-2 in the first round . She then went on to overcome Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-4, 6-2 in the second round to earn herself a spot in the third round.

Here, the Spaniard ended 14th seed Daria Kasatkina's seven-match winning streak on grass, beating her 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 51 minutes to advance to the fourth round of Wimbledon for the third time.

While speaking to the press following her win over Daria Kasatkina, Paula Badosa spoke about the chronic back pain that has plagued her since the beginning of 2023. This back pain had also caused a stress fracture had that forced her to retire from the 2023 Wimbledon Championships and prematurely end her season.

Badosa revealed that while some days are far "worse" than others, she has found ways to manage the pain. She revealed that despite her wanting to train and hot the gym on her off days, the pain sometimes hinders her. She stated that she has to take more rest days than she would prefer as it has become necessary to cope with the pain.

“There are days when I feel worse than others, but it’s manageable. There are other days when it’s tough, but I also control a lot of the tournaments I play, the days I train and the days I have off. I like going to the gym, I like working hard, but there are days when I can’t do that. So I’m managing it very well. I may take more days off than I would like, but that’s the only way,” Paula Badosa said (via Punto de Break).

The former World No.2 said that after receiving the diagnosis of the injury from her doctor, who suggested she might not be able to continue playing tennis, her mental toughness and resilience prevailed and helped her get back on the court.

“Last year I had to retire and then it took me about 10 months, I was on the couch watching tournaments from home. Also when I started this year, I didn’t know what was going to happen. The doctors told me that I might not be able to continue. I’ve always been very mentally tough and a fighter, so I was going to do it anyway,” she added.

Paula Badosa said that she was proud of herself in being able to overcome her injury and back pain to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon. She stated that although she is still far from a full recovery, she is grateful to be back on the court, doing what she loves

“So I’m very proud that I went through all that. Now I’m back in the fourth round and playing at a good level again. Sometimes when I came back at the beginning of the year I also suffered a lot, my level wasn’t there. I still feel far away, but to see myself back here, it means a lot,” Paula Badosa said.

Paula Badosa will face Donna Vekic in the fourth round at Wimbledon 2024

Paula Badosa

Paula Badosa will go up against Donna Vekic in the fourth round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.

Vekic kicked off her campaign at the Grasscourt Major by defeating Xiyu Wang 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round. She then overcame lucky loser Erika Andreeva 6-2, 6-3 and 28th seed Dayana Yastremska 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-1 in the second and third rounds, respectively to advance to the fourth round.

The upcoming fourth round match between Paula Badosa and Donna Vekic will be their first encounter on the WTA Tour. The winner of this match will face either Emma Raducanu or qualifier Lulu Sun in the quarterfinals.