Badosa runs out of steam in the third round of Roland Garros

Just like in 2024 and 2022 (she missed the tournament due to injury in between), Spain's Paula Badosa (world number 10) bowed out in the third round of Roland Garros after losing to Australian Daria Kasatkina on Saturday. But the results, the tennis player assures, are positive. "Now the disappointment is greater. I'm competitive and I hate losing, but tomorrow I'll see things better. The results are positive. I won two long matches and played good tennis. I need to keep working, get my fitness up to the level I saw in Australia, and be able to play three hours a day," she explained afterward to the Spanish media in Paris.

Even before the tournament, she admitted that she didn't have high expectations for this Roland Garros. Her back injury has kept her from playing much lately. She withdrew in Miami and couldn't play in Stuttgart, Madrid, or Rome. And in Paris, she won two huge matches , coming from behind against Naomi Osaka and Ruse.

But she couldn't beat Kasatkina. "Physically, I'm far from where I want to be. She played a very physical match, she was very clever, and I didn't get to the balls like I wanted; I wasn't explosive. She didn't give me the free points I need when I'm in this physical state. But I was already in this position. Playing three matches here is positive," the Catalan continued.

A semi-finalist at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, she lost 6-1, 7-5 to an opponent she had previously faced on six occasions - although Kasatkina competed under the Russian flag on the previous six - with three wins each.

Badosa, who was ranked 139th in the world just a year ago, returned to the Simonne-Mathieu court, the same court where she had eliminated Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the previous round . She had to save three break points to take the first game of the match. It was a premonition of what awaited the Spaniard in that first set, in which she dropped serve three times to suffer a 6-1 deficit in 29 minutes.

She unleashed her competitive streak in the second set, but the burden was too heavy to lift. Kasatkina also took advantage of her greater experience and a good understanding of her opponent, who lacked the energy of other matches. She also arrived more rested, with three hours and 29 minutes in her legs compared to the four hours and 43 minutes Badosa had to put in in the two previous rounds.

The Spaniard, however, knows that tennis is there, and she's shown it every time her back has let her compete. That's why she'll continue on this path despite the defeat on this ugly day in Paris. "Now I want to compete as much as possible, but be careful with my back. Berlin, Bad Homburg, and Wimbledon. I have to keep going like this, and I've already shown that I'm at the level I'm at. I showed it in the first match, with a very, very high level against Osaka, in the final rounds. It's what I always say: if my body respects me, I'm fine tennis-wise, and mentally too. I say that Wimbledon or the US Open could be my chance, but I don't know how I'll wake up tomorrow," she settled between hope and reality.

Kasatkina announced in March that she would be playing for Australia from now on. The 28-year-old had described the war in Ukraine as a "nightmare" and had opposed Russia's anti-LGBTQ+ policies after coming out as gay. Her opponent in the round of 16 will be Russia's Mirra Andreeva (6th), who eliminated Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva at the same time.

Jessica Bouzas also failed to reach the round of 16. She fought to the limit against Hailey Baptiste, 23 years old and ranked 70 in the world, in the first set, but had no more energy left for the second (7-6 (4) and 6-1).

These eliminations leave Alcaraz as the sole representative of Spanish tennis in Paris, a trend that has been repeated recently and perhaps all the more painful given that this is a clay-court Grand Slam, which has brought so much joy in the history of Spanish sport.