Pol Toledo Reflects on Badosa's Withdrawal: "Letting Her Play Would Have Been Too Big a Risk"

Badosa withdrew just minutes before her first match in Madrid against Kudermetova. Having also retired during Miami, the 26-year-old player continues to battle a persistent back injury that has plagued her for several years now.

Pol Toledo, the Spaniard’s coach for the past two years, addressed this unfortunate withdrawal. He also spoke about the challenges of such an injury and the uncertainty that looms over every match:

"There was a chance she could play this tournament, which is why we pushed until the end. We know how much Paula loves playing at home, but we also know we can’t gamble with her health.

We had to make a decision based on how she was feeling, so we chose to wait a little longer, even though she wanted to play. Letting her start might have been too big a risk.

The day before, she was feeling a bit better, but we made the call after one final meeting. You always want to wait until the last minute to see how she feels, but it’s complicated because of the nature of the injury. In Miami, no one was thinking about the injury, but it suddenly flared up.

After the first injection, which didn’t suit her, the doctors believed the second one would go better. It’s true, she’s feeling better, but she wasn’t ready to play six matches—that’s why she came to the tournament. Paula isn’t here to win just one match; she’s thinking about winning the title."