Paula Badosa has been making headlines recently, but not always for the right reasons. The Spaniard received flak from fans after abruptly abandoning her doubles commitment with Karolina Muchova at the China Open. Not only that, Badosa’s withdrawal elicited a strong reaction from her first-round doubles rival, whom she and Muchova downed in straight sets. However, a timely relief came to her rescue and Badosa didn’t shy away from taking a dig at the naysayers subsequently.

The Spanish star has been dominating her singles counterparts all week in Beijing. Later, she stepped into the doubles ring, teaming up with Muchova, in hopes of a successful run at their partnership. That worked, at least initially. The duo outclassed the pair of Irina Khromacheva and Anna Danilina in the opener. But, then Muchova and Badosa withdrew from their R2 clash. Moments after the update was aired, fans were unhappy. Moreover, Russian Khromacheva fired shots at the seasoned singles players for dislodging doubles specialists’ agenda time and again on the Tour.

She wrote, “Bravo WTA. We lost to singles players in doubles in Beijing tournament… And second round they are pulling out cause they don’t care about doubles… but they continue to play singles this week… Completely crazy by taking place of teams who could enter and participate fully. Very nice rule. Crazy.” But now with recent revelations coming to light, Badosa is seemingly saved from further scrutiny, both from aggravated players and fans. It has been disclosed that the reason behind the duo’s last-minute withdrawal was Muchova’s injury.

The Czech star sustained a right wrist injury, as unveiled by the tournament’s official listings. This, in turn, prompted Badosa to take a swipe at those who earlier condemned her misunderstood withdrawal. “La gente juzga sin enterarse completamente de nada. Es brutal,” she wrote on X in Spanish, which translates to “People judge without fully understanding anything. It’s brutal.”

For those unaware, the Spanish star was involved in a similar controversy at the Citi Open, wherein she was a no-show after winning her first-round doubles match. Coming back to the China Open though, the Spaniard is scripting head-turning results in her singles campaign. Notably, Badosa touched down on impressive results after showcasing her athletic prowess against Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals.

Paula Badosa upsets second seed Jessica Pegula at the China Open

Spanish superstar Paula Badosa has let her racket do the talking for her in Beijing. Despite enduring critics’ remarks, the former World No. 2 is focused on enhancing her resume and furnishing it with more silverware. Badosa has been making rounds in China and her latest triumph came against Jessica Pegula. The Spaniard made short work of the US Open finalist by registering a surprising straight-set victory, 6-4, 6-0, helping her advance to the quarterfinals.

In an on-court interview, the 26-year-old reserved a few words to address her thrilling win. “Yesterday I prepared myself for a battle, but I think today everything worked pretty well. I was moving well, my backhand, my forehand was there today, and I fought. I’m happy for this win, honestly,” she said.

Next up, Badosa will square off against home favorite Zhang Shuai. Both players will take to the courts on Thursday, October 3, in hopes of inching one step closer to glory in Beijing.