Tennis Fans Convinced Paula Badosa Faked Injury After Mid-Match Retirement

Women’s tennis star Paula Badosa has found herself at the center of controversy this week.

Just three days ago, Badosa retired during the Iași Open final against Mayar Sherif. She was trailing 6-4, 4-0 before making this decision. The former world No. 2 then apologized to the crowd for cutting the match short.

“I hate this moment right now,” Badosa said on court. “I couldn’t keep up with my body, so I apologize for that.”

While fans were initially worried for Badosa due to her injury history, they’re no longer feeling sympathetic. That’s because the Spanish tennis star has already returned to the court for another tournament.

In just the past 48 hours, Badosa has defeated Katarzyna Kawa and Panna Udvardy in straight sets at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open.

Now that Badosa is back to her winning ways, fans are convinced she faked an injury against Sherif. Others, however, argued that she was dealing with a potential stomach bug.

“Not hugely impressed with Badosa retiring two games from defeat in the Iasi final only to play and win her R1 match in a different tournament two days later,” one fan wrote on X.

“Badosa playing today proves she wasn’t injured in Romania final…just didn’t want to take that straight sets whooping from Sherif,” a second fan declared.

“I want to remind fans that Badosa was ‘extremely injured’ 4 days ago,” another fan said.

A rematch is on deck for Badosa.

Ironically enough, Badosa will face Sherif this Friday in the quarterfinals of the Bitpanda Hamburg Open.

If Badosa ends up losing Friday’s match without suffering an early exit, fans will probably excuse what happened on Monday.

On the flip side, Badosa is another mid-match retirement away from infuriating tennis fans around the world.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Jul 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the Tennis section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.