Paula Badosa continues to face backlash for comments on Iga Swiatek at the French Open. After the Pole asked the crowd to not scream while the points were in play, Badosa said she couldn’t complain as she plays on larger courts with better protection against outside noise. She was lambasted left and right by the Swiatek fans, and the bashing continued as she exited the tournament.

Paula Badosa fell to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets (5-7, 1-6) in their third-round clash at the French Open. The two played on Philippe-Chatrier, the biggest court in Stade Roland-Garros. Noticing her loss in a bigger court, with great protection from outside noise, Swiatek fans could not stop themselves from bashing her.

The Spaniard was up 5-3 in the first set but let two games slip, which eventually led to Saba’s victory. Watching her being demolished despite the advantage, one fan claimed, “Oh my, someone must have been unlucky… Because it certainly wasn’t skills.” 

Badosa’s initial comment about Swiatek mentioned the fact that she plays on a smaller court, which produces more noise. However, if she keeps losing, she will get fewer and fewer chances to play on large courts. One fan said, “well Paulita, if you don’t want to play in parking lots, you have to be able to win sets in which you are leading 5:3 and you have your serve ;p it’s that simple.”

In her past three grand slam appearances, this is her second clash, which was played in a large court. John Cairn Arena was the venue of her third round of the 2024 Australian Open. With Philippe Chatrier being her second large court appearance, one fan believed she was lucky. “Well, Badosa had “lukky” and she played on the main court for the first and, unfortunately, last time 👀🤭.”

Following the theme, another fan commented, “Well atleast she got lucky enough to play on a big court…” Paula Badosa claimed that she could play matches with utmost focus despite the noise from fans. With her loss, one fan said that no one would bother her with noise anymore:

The initial backlash for Badosa began when she shared her comment about Swiatek’s request to fans.

Paula Badosa’s comments which continue to draw flak

Swiatek and Naomi Osaka played a fantastic match, which saw unfortunate audience disruption during points. After the match, World Number 1 requested that the fans maintain decorum. To her request, Badosa said, “I think she cannot complain, because I played Court 8 and 9 and you can hear everything. Like, I can hear Suzanne Lenglen, Philippe Chatrier, Court 6, 7 during the points.”

Her comment was quickly followed by heat from Swiatek fans, which forced Paula Badosa to share a follow-up statement. “Hey guys relax! We all know she is the best player in the world and she has to play on the biggest court always because she deserves that the most. I just said there’s much more noise playing outside. Calm down guyssssssss jezzzzzzzzz!”

The Spaniard likely regrets sharing her comments as the criticisms are now turning to scathing remarks. Although she is managing a few victories, she will not be booked in a larger court without rising up to her former level. Can she manage it and silence her haters?