Paula Badosa remains a fan favorite in tennis because she has all the traits of a real human being. In other words, she isn't just a world-class athlete who can be elite at her sport. Instead, she suffers the pain from injuries, the happiness of victories, and the bitterness of disappointment.
Make no mistake, however; she recently crossed a line and got away with it. In her semifinal match at the Iasi Open, she lost a point and, in response, threw her racket. She didn't just toss it on the ground. She strong-armed the racket toward the end of the court, where it went above the wall and just below the cusp of where fans were sitting. She was fortunate she didn't strike anyone.
She didn't seem bothered by the outcome of the moment. She went on playing and won her match. The match, though, will be forgotten. Her tossing her racket will not be. In fact, former WTA doubles No. 1 (and as high as No. 64 in singles) and current tennis commentator, Rennae Stubbs, took notice and was not happy with what Badosa did.
Paula Badosa gets brutal backlash for throwing her racket at a recent match
On the commentator's recent eponymous podcast, Stubbs said of Badosa throwing her racket, "Automatic default. That was an absolute disgrace. You know, as a player, when you let go of a racket out of your hand, whatever happens after that is on you. No matter if it’s ‘unlucky.' You had control of the racket in your hand, and you let it go. If it goes into the stands, you should absolutely be defaulted immediately, and that is the only way to stop it."
The issue is that when Badosa let go of her racket, she likely knew where it was headed. Maybe she was aiming for the back wall, but she wasn't obviously throwing the racket in a downward motion. Badosa is smart enough to understand that the racket could have carried into the stands, where some real harm might have been done.
Could she have been disqualified? Absolutely. The moment was a judgement call by the umpire, who was probably as caught off guard by what happened as the fans were. Had a fan been hit, Badosa would have made news everywhere and likely faced a suspension.
One could argue she still should have because, as Stubbs implied, the Spaniard was lucky she didn't hurt anyone. Paula Badosa is an emotional player, as many are, and she's battled injury after injury and kept playing. The most fortunate part of her career might have been that she didn't cause injury to others by hitting them with her racket at the Iasi Open.
