Failed comeback on grass: Paula Badosa and Bianca Andreescu crash out early in s-Hertogenbosch

The grass-court swing is only just underway, and it has already delivered early upsets, with both Paula Badosa and Bianca Andreescu suffering first-round exits at the Libema Open s-Hertogenbosch.

The WTA 250 event in the Netherlands had one of its key storylines on Monday centred on the return of two high-profile names from the women’s draw, both aiming to rebuild momentum after extended spells away from competitive action.

For Andreescu, it has been a year marked by participation in ITF tournaments, while her few appearances at WTA level have ended early. Little by little, she has become accustomed to building competitive rhythm in lower-level events, although it has not had enough effect when it comes to challenging the top names – as was evident after falling in the Roland Garros qualifying draw.

In the case of the Spaniard, she is still looking to rediscover a good physical condition. Badosa recorded her fifth consecutive defeat following a disappointing clay swing, and clear confidence issues after the latest setback in her back injury – the same one that has forced her to retire 38 times throughout her career.

The 2024 s’Hertogenbosch runner-up Bianca Andreescu (No. 158) stepped onto the court in the morning for a difficult clash against defending champion Elise Mertens. The Canadian was returning to the courts after falling in the Roland Garros qualifiers and was playing her first WTA-level match since the Rome Open more than a month earlier.

The lack of rhythm ended up costing Andreescu dearly – currently world No. 158 – as she was unable to put up much resistance against the third seed and defending champion Mertens. The match lasted barely an hour, and the Belgian world No. 22 secured a straight-sets victory – with Andreescu winning only three games. Mertens did not even face a break point and won as many as 80% of her service points against a poor 50% from Andreescu.

Andreescu had the obligation of defending her 2025 result, where she reached the quarter-finals, so her ranking will be affected just as the grass swing begins. She will fall at least 17 places and will sit at No. 175 by the end of the tournament. She will also have no opportunities to add points over the coming weeks, as her next event will be the Wimbledon qualifying tournament, where she will try to return to a Grand Slam main draw for the first time since the 2024 US Open (first-round loss).

Since then, Andreescu has repeatedly been forced to contest Grand Slam qualifying events, including a recent defeat in the second round of French Open qualifying – just as happened to her a year ago on the road to Wimbledon. In two weeks’ time, Andreescu will once again attempt to return to a Grand Slam main draw, competing through the qualifiers.

Badosa (No. 141) continues to search for her form after returning, and the time away from the courts during the last month was used to prepare for her comeback and spend more time focusing on the grass swing. By her own decision, she chose to skip Roland Garros – where she was due to play qualifying – and instead focused on preparing physically for the grass-court season.

The former world No. 2 received a wildcard this time at the Libema Open, where she faced Daria Snigur – current world No. 84. The Ukrainian, despite not having extensive experience on grass courts, gave the Spaniard a tough battle and showed she was the player carrying the better competitive rhythm, defeating her in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6.

For Badosa, it was a match in which it took her some time to find her rhythm. She held her opening service game, but was then overwhelmed by Snigur, who won the next six games in a row to seal an impressive opening set 6-1, in which she won 66% of the points contested.

In the second set, things became more balanced after an early break from Badosa – who managed to hold onto the advantage, although with difficulties. The Spaniard wasted a set point at 5-3 on return and later failed to close out the set on her own serve. Snigur forced a tie-break and eventually secured a straight-sets victory – while Badosa exits the tournament at the first hurdle.

For the moment, the defeat will not have major effects on Badosa’s ranking, and she appears at No. 139 in the live rankings – although there is a strong possibility of losing a few places as the week progresses.

The Spaniard has no confirmed tournaments for the coming weeks, and for now she is expected to return at Wimbledon – where she would receive direct entry following several confirmed withdrawals from the main draw (such as injuries to Hailey Baptiste, Varvara Gracheva, and Sonay Kartal).