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Wimbledon star bursts into tears on court after defying doctors' orders


Paula Badosa burst into tears on court after sealing her place in the Wimbledon fourth round, the first time she has reached that stage of any Grand Slam in two years.

The Spanish star has been through an injury-ravaged spell and was even told by doctors that she should retire, forcing her to rely upon medical injections to continue playing.

And there was a huge moment of relief that her effort had paid off with a 7-6(6) 4-6 6-4 victory over Daria Kasatkina, having been down 2-4 in the decider.

When Kasatkina hit her final shot at Wimbledon into the net, Badosa held her arms aloft before placing them on her head as she began to sob. She hugged her opponent and shook hands with the umpire before blowing kisses to the jubilant supporters cheering her on.

“Against Dasha is always a battle,” Badosa said in her on-court interview. “She’s such a great player. She’s been at the top so many years. It’s very special for me. It’s not my first time in 2nd week of a slam. For me it’s the most special one. Because a few months ago, I didn’t know if I’d be able to play tennis.”

Badosa then began to cry as she addressed the crowd, before adding: “I’ll be so embarrassed of this video after but it’s okay.”

Badosa had to retire in the second round of Wimbledon last year after a back stress fracture and shut down the remainder of her season, but insisted that she would keep her career alive by taking cortisone injections and defying her doctor’s plea to hang up the racket.

“In Indian Wells, the doctors told me it would be very complicated to continue my career,” she told WTA Insider earlier this year. “They said this is the only option we can give you and maybe you will have to keep doing that if you want to play for a few more years.

“I said, ‘A few more years? I’m still 26.’ For me that was very tough. So far, the injections are working. The pain is always there, but there were times I couldn’t even handle it.”

She is hoping to get three more years as a professional tennis player while battling the chronic back issue and vowed to continue taking injections as long as she can play, but such treatment is far from ideal, though the rewards appear to be outweighing the risk for Badosa at SW19.

Badosa will face either Dayana Yastremska or Donna Vekic for a place in the quarter-finals.

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