Badosa takes on online trolls following her Olympic withdrawal

Paula Badosa shared a message to her haters on social media after confirming her withdrawal from the Olympic Games. The 26-year-old tennis player recently announced that she would not be competing in Paris 2024, receiving criticism on social media.

Badosa has been struggling with injuries over the past year, preventing her from playing regularly and keeping her far from the top players in the rankings. Currently, the Spaniard is world No. 118 with a record of 11-11 in 2024, still far from her best moments back in 2022 when she reached world No. 2.

The former Indian Wells champion had to face a difficult decision before declining her participation in the Olympic Games. Since her ranking did not allow her direct entry into the tournament, the Spaniard had the possibility of using her protected ranking (No. 34), as she was injured for more than six months in 2023, which would have given her a spot in the main draw of Paris 2024.

However, the Spaniard decided not to participate in the Olympics, attracting haters who sent messages and commented criticizing Badosa. In addition to an irregular last year for the former world No. 2, she has often commented on receiving constant hate messages when results do not meet expectations.

Given this, Badosa sent a message to the haters through an image of her smiling in her Instagram stories with the caption: “My reaction when haters speak." And at the bottom of the photo she added the message, "Love ya all.”

World No. 118 did not secure direct qualification by ranking, as she needed to be among the top 56 ranked players, falling short of the cutoff. There was still a possibility that would have given her a spot in the tournament through her Protected Ranking, which has already benefited her several times this season.

Badosa can use her Protected Ranking only two more times, and since the Olympics do not offer ranking points, she decided not to use one of those opportunities in Paris. Badosa hopes to take advantage of her last wildcards to enter tournaments that will allow her to earn more points and return to the top spots in the rankings.

A second issue complicating matters for Badosa was the physical toll. After participating in the clay swing and being eliminated in the first round of Roland Garros, transitioning to grass is an added burden on her body, especially with Wimbledon in mind. Participating in Paris 2024 after Wimbledon would involve switching from clay to grass and back to clay in a few weeks, potentially affecting her physical condition.

The Spaniard sent a message to her fans a few days ago explaining her reasons for not participating in the Olympic event representing Spain: "Hello everyone, due to my current situation with my injury, unfortunately I will not be able to go to the Olympics, something that I was really looking forward to. It has been a very difficult decision for me, as it is very complicated for me to have to give up playing for my country."

"Due to the calendar and changes in surface, my back cannot handle that demand. I wish my professional situation were different, but since this injury, I have to take my career in a different direction, and give up very difficult things for me. And I have no choice but to accept it."