Spain’s world number 35, Paula Badosa, will not be fit enough to play at the upcoming Hopman Cup after suffering a setback in her recent recovery from injury.
Badosa was forced to retire early in the second set of her second-round tie having lost the first set 6-2. Badosa has been in solid form in recent events, having reached three back-to-back quarter-finals at the Stuttgart Open, the Madrid Open, and the Italian Open.
Injury setback curtails Badosa’s fine progress
Having scaled the heights of world number two as recently as April 2022, these troublesome injuries are a major setback to cementing herself in the world’s top ten.
It’s not yet known whether Badosa’s withdrawal from the Hopman Cup is linked to her previous injuries or if it’s a new issue. However, it’s likely she will take some time away from the courts to undergo rehab with a view to being fit for the US hard court season and the US Open.
All the talk of the women’s and men’s Wimbledon 2023 odds has surrounded wildcard Elina Svitolina, who reached the last four in her first Grand Slam back after maternity leave. However, she fell at the semi-final stage, missing out on a Wimbledon final in her first attempt back on the WTA circuit. Tunisian Ons Jabeur is the betting favorite to win her first Wimbledon title, priced at -200. Her short odds reflect the fact she’s reached back-to-back Wimbledon finals and is seemingly at home on grass courts.
2021 and 2022 were certainly breakthrough years for Badosa, who will be looking to emulate Jabeur, who has been something of a late bloomer herself. Badosa’s best showings at Grand Slam events to date came in 2021 when she reached the last eight at Roland Garros. She followed that up with an advance to the fourth round of Wimbledon just weeks later.
In 2022, she would reach the fourth round at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon once again. It’s perhaps no surprise that hard and grass courts match up well to Badosa’s game given she has one of the fastest, flattest serves on the WTA Tour. She’s also got some hefty groundstrokes to match, which allow her to dictate rallies against those with inferior baseline games.
A guide to the 2023 Hopman Cup
It’s not yet clear who Badosa’s deputy to represent Spain in the upcoming Hopman Cup is likely to be. However, the talent pool is by no means deep, with just three more Spaniards inside the WTA’s top 100 world rankings.
This year’s Hopman Cup is being hosted in Nice, France at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club. Alongside Spain, there will be teams representing Switzerland, France, Belgium, Denmark, and Croatia. Across men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles matches, each contest is a best-of-three-set encounter, with the third set played as a super tie-break.
The contest used to be staged in Perth, Western Australia between 1989 and 2019, before being replaced the following year by the ATP Cup. However, this competition is already defunct, with the Hopman Cup once again taking pride of place in the international tennis calendar.
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