The seeded players continue to fall at the Australian Open this year.
It has been a strong start in Melbourne for top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, who are yet to drop a set at the Australian Open this year.
However, it has not been the same for all top players, with Felix Auger-Aliassime being knocked out of the Australian Open in the first round.
There have also been some surprises in the women’s singles draw, with Grand Slam champions including Sofia Kenin and Jelena Ostapenko already out of the Australian Open.
They have now been joined by a former world number two, who will now tumble down the rankings after her second round exit at the Australian Open.
Paula Badosa will drop down rankings after Australian Open exit
Paula Badosa is a former world number two and came into this year’s tournament as the 25th seed.
Despite previously being one of the best players in the world, Badosa’s injury problems have been very public and even forced her to bring an early end to her 2025 season.
After having over three months away from the WTA Tour, Badosa returned to action at the Brisbane International, but she has only been able to win two of her first five matches of the 2026 season.
Badosa’s latest defeat came in the second round of the Australian Open, where she was beaten by world number 101 Oksana Selekhmeteva in straight sets.
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Not only is this the Spaniard’s earliest exit at the Australian Open since 2021, but it will now also have a detrimental impact on Badosa’s ranking.
Badosa reached the Australian Open semifinals last year, which is her best Grand Slam result to date, and therefore she will now drop 710 points from her ranking when they are updated after the tournament is concluded.
This means that Badosa is confirmed to leave the top 60 in the WTA rankings for the first time since July 2024.
Paula Badosa provides fitness update after Australian Open exit
Following her disappointing exit from the Australian Open, Badosa spoke to Eurosport Spain, where she reflected on her performance.
In this interview, Badosa admitted that she is finding it challenging to feel like herself on court at the moment.
“I’m not happy, obviously,” said Badosa. “I think she deserves credit, of course, but I also think I’ve done enough to deserve this defeat. I haven’t played great tennis, I’m finding it a bit difficult to feel like myself, but I suppose it’s part of the process.”
While there are a lot of obvious negatives surrounding her performance, one positive for Badosa is that she has provided a positive update on how she is feeling physically.
“I’m doing well in that respect, my body is responding well, which is good news,” added Badosa. “In the end, after all this, that’s the most important thing, so I have to focus on that. Now what I need is to keep playing several games in a row to get back to feeling like myself as soon as possible.”
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Badosa will now have over a week away from the match court, before she heads to the Middle East for tournaments in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai.
The 28-year-old will have a further 186 points to defend during this section of the season, as Badosa looks to avoid falling any further down the rankings.
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