Paula Badosa suffers a major heart attack as she is forced to withdraw from the final of the Iasi Open

Paula Bados’ remarkable revival on the WTA Tour ended in heartbreak on Monday when the Spaniard was forced to withdraw from the Iasi Open final against Egypt’s Mayar Sherif. Badosa went into the match with Sherif 6-4, 4-0, handing the Egyptian her second WTA title and extending her winning streak to 10 matches.

The rain-delayed final marked the end of Badosa’s nine-game winning streak. The former world number two arrived in Romania after triumphing at the WTA 125 tournament in Bastad, and for the first time in her career she was bidding to win back-to-back tournaments.

Sherif, ranked world No. 73, dominated the latter stages of the contest after winning the opening set of the contest. The Egyptian enjoyed a strong campaign on clay and made the most of Bados’ physical matches to seal their respective titles.

For Badosa, the defeat was especially painful given the difficult months she had endured. The 27-year-old has struggled with injuries and erratic form in recent seasons, falling outside the top 100 earlier this year before rediscovering her rhythm in Romania. Meanwhile, reaching the final helped her climb to No. 93 in the WTA rankings and boosted her hopes of securing direct entry into the US Open main draw.

BADOSA REFLECTS A DRAMATIC TURN

An emotional Badosa apologized to the crowd after pulling out of the match, admitting her body let her down at the worst possible time.

“I’m always a player who is very honest and real. I have to say that I hate this moment, I hate losing in the final and I’m really sorry that I had to do it this way, but I couldn’t keep up with my body, so I’m sorry for that too,” Badosa said.

The Spaniard also reflected on her recent resurgence after one of the toughest stretches of her career.

“But I also want to say that a month ago I was on one of the worst losing streaks of my career and a month after I went on one of the best winning streaks of my career recently, we had a little more positives,” she added.

Although the Iasi title slipped away, Badosa leaves Romania with renewed confidence after reaching back-to-back finals and reminding the tennis world of the quality that once took her to world No.2.

– The end

Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

20 Jul 2026 18:05 IST