Archive photo of Paula Badosa©AFP
Former world number two Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photo. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard withdrew from the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. Media outlets including British newspaper The Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks at the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week at a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the China Open, and was posted online by her coach Pol Toledo.
It sparked an outcry on social media and has since been deleted.
The world number 15 apologized for her behavior in a post on social media platform X on Monday.
“Hey guys! Really sorry, I didn’t know that was offensive towards racism. It’s my mistake,” she wrote.
“I take full responsibility for this. These mistakes will teach me for next time. I hope you understand.”
Badosa was replaced in the draw by lucky Italian loser Lucia Bronzetti, who will now face Tomljanovic.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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