Paula Badosa knows "I’m going to retire young" but won't stop until doctors advise it's time

Paula Badosa isn’t letting a chronic injury get in the way of her lifelong passion for tennis.

“I have no choice, I’m very stubborn,” she said before leaving Madrid. “For me to stop, the doctors would have to tell me so... and I'm in daily contact with them.”

The Spaniard has been managing her back injury since 2023, when a stress fracture nearly ended her career for good. Last year saw a triumphant comeback, reaching a major quarterfinal for the first time ever—and her 2025 started with a Top 10 return following an Australian Open semifinal run.

Read More: How Badosa flipped the retirement script into first US Open quarterfinal

But the injury isn’t in the rearview, in fact, it never will be.

Following “the real blow” at the Miami Open, which saw her withdraw ahead of a round-of-16 match in Miami against Alexandra Eala, Badosa was forced to delay her 2025 clay debut.

Although making the trip to Madrid, she opted not to compete at her home tournament. The former world No. 2 revealed she was “unable to do anything for almost four weeks” after Miami, “neither tennis nor normal life.”

She’s seeded No. 9 in Rome, with a first-round bye in Iga Swiatek’s quarter.

Do I want to spend five more years playing fewer tournaments, or take a few risks and strive for the big goals? I guess the answer lies in finding a balance. - Paula Badosa

“Do I want to spend five more years playing fewer tournaments, or take a few risks and strive for the big goals?” she said in her interview. “I guess the answer lies in finding a balance.”

The big goals she’s referring to? Winning a Grand Slam trophy.

“I came so close to it, so now I want it even more,” she said. “Despite these injuries, I've been able to prove that, even when I'm healthy, I'm one of the best in the world. That makes me wonder: why can't I be the next one if I'm in shape?”

And the balance she’s searching for? It certainly doesn’t include retirement.

“I've assimilated it,” Badosa said. “I know I'm going to retire young and the next day I'll be straight into surgery.”

But surgery isn’t on the table just yet, especially with injections as temporary pain management solutions that support Badosa’s tennis aspirations.

“I've told them many times: until you operate on me and there's no other solution, I'll continue with the injections, even though I know how bad they are for me and how harmful they are to my body,” she said.

Reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals in the last two major appearances, respectively, Badosa is hoping to find some footing during the final clay tournament ahead of Roland Garros.

“I'm so passionate about tennis, every day, I'm so passionate,” she said. “In the end, I'm still 27. If they tell me to stop at 30 or 32, then fine, but if I can handle it somehow, then I'll try.”

She awaits the winner of Naomi Osaka and Sara Errani in Rome for her first clay-court battle of the year.