Former World No. 2 Paula Badosa, who fell to 113th in the WTA rankings after her second round exit from the Miami Open, which was a big emotional blow, is competing this week at the WTA 125 Charleston Open, debuting Tuesday afternoon against Kayla Day (ranked 162), forced to progress in the tournament to return to the Top 100 before April 5, to avoid playing qualifiers for Roland Garros.
Injuries have plagued her season, and after returning to the top 10 (World No. 9) last year, she fell again after many withdrawals. She has a 4-7 win/loss record this year: many people assume it's because of chronic pain in her back, but Badosa revealed she suffered other injuries: a torn labrum in her right hip last year, after Wimbledon.
"Some days I wake up and I'm like, 'Wow, I have to compete today? How am I going to do it?' There's so many things in my brain sometimes that I'm not even thinking about the match. It's stressful for me", she said to the press in Charleston (via Tennis.com).