You haven’t seen the last of Paula Badosa.
The Spanish tennis star opened up in a vulnerable social media post, following her second-round exit in the Miami Open against Iva Jovic — which is set to drop her out of the WTA top 100 rankings.
On Instagram, the former World No. 2 gave followers a raw look into her compromised emotional state after getting hit with yet another setback.
“Fear, f–king fear. How brutal it is. Sometimes I feel like I can’t control the voices inside me,” she wrote on her Instagram story Monday night.
“The emotions are too much, and I find myself overwhelmed. Doubts take hold of me, and I feel lost in a sea of emotions.”
Badosa had seemingly punched a one-way ticket to superstardom, winning the Indian Wells title in 2021, among several other triumphs, and surging to second place in the world rankings in April 2022.
But the Manhattan-born Spaniard’s career has been derailed by various injuries, which have caused her to miss several marquee tournaments in recent years.
One year after storming to the Australian Open semifinals in 2025, her best Grand Slam result to date, Badosa got bounced in the second round at the same event in January — fueling a dramatic ratings drop.
She trekked down to South Beach sitting as the World No. 100, and Saturday’s 6-2, 6-1 loss to Jovic, the rising American star, knocked her down to No. 113 in the live global standings.
Still, the 2024 Comeback Player of the Year is no stranger to being on the ropes — and she punctuated her message with a guarantee that she’ll be “back.”
“There’s one thing I’m clear about… I’ll always try with all my strength. I’ll do whatever it takes. I won’t be remembered for winning the most titles, but I want to be remembered for this. For these moments. For showing that Paula was able to come through,” Badosa wrote.
“Because once again, I’m going to prove that I can come through. It’ll be really tough, but I promise I’ll keep going until I do. And even if things don’t work out right now, and there are a thousand opinions… I’ll keep going. And keep going. Paula isn’t back… but she will be.”
In missing both the Madrid Open and Italian Open last year, there is a silver lining for Badosa: she has a limited number of ranking points to defend during the clay court session.
As outlined by The Tennis Gazette, Badosa only has to defend 238 ranking points until after the French Open next month, and she’s already confirmed to play in two clay court tournaments.
She’ll also compete at the Charleston Open next week, where she’s a former semifinalist, and then return to Europe as a wildcard entrant for the WTA 250 tournament in Rouen, France.
Even outside the top 100, Badosa could likely draw a wildcard for her home WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid.
But she may have to qualify for the Roland Garros, which would mark her first time in a Grand Slam qualifier since the US Open in 2019.