Paula Badosa, Elena Rybakina advance through Strasbourg openers

The Internationaux de Strasbourg saw two top seeds win their opening-round matches on Tuesday, No. 3 seed Paula Badosa and No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina advancing over Marie Bouzkova and Wang, Xinyu, respectively.

Badosa, who had been off the court since March due to a recurring back injury, was tied three games apiece when it was Bouzkova who was forced to retire due to injury. Rybakina followed Badosa onto Patrice Dominguez Court to post a 6-1, 6-3 win over Wang in 64 minutes.

“Honestly, I’m a bit tired,” Badosa said on court after the match. “It was 3-3 but it was a very long match, as you can see, 40 minutes. It’s always a battle with Marie and I feel very sorry for her with what happened because it was in the middle of the match, so it wasn’t expected from her side.

“I feel bad because it was a very good match, a lot of rallies. Me, I’m happy to be back after two months. It was a tough journey, so finally, being back and getting minutes on court, I really appreciate it. I’m still very far from my level but hopefully I can be there soon.”

Badosa was on course for a career-best season after starting the year with a run to the 2025 Australian Open semifinals. The result earned her a return to the Top 10, having peaked at No. 2 in the rankings back in 2022, but the back injury that nearly forced her out of the game last year returned ahead of the BNP Paribas Open in March and the Spaniard had been forced to miss nearly all of the clay court season ahead of Roland Garros.

“This time, mentally it hurt, because I think I was playing the best tennis of my life,” Badosa said of the time off. “I was playing very well, feeling physically very well. So, stopping like this was tough for me, but finally I’m back and pain-free. I’m looking forward to next week, to playing here. It’s my first time in Strasbourg.

“As you know, I’m Spanish but I grew up in the north of Spain, so it’s almost in France. I always played so much under-10 and under-12 in France, so I feel like half from here!”

I think I was playing the best tennis of my life. I was playing very well, feeling physically very well. So, stopping like this was tough for me, but finally I’m back and pain-free. I’m looking forward to next week, to playing here. Paula Badosa

The 27-year-old’s win comes on the same day as the launch of her Aces by Paula Badosa jewelry line, a collaboration with the 1916 Company that is “inspired by the sun, illuminating the spirit of performance and personal evolution.”

Read more: Paula Badosa to launch 'Aces' jewelry collection with The 1916 Company

Awaiting Badosa in the last eight will be either French wild card Diane Parry or No. 8 seed Liudmila Samsonova.

While Rybakina has been on court throughout the year, her results have tailed off since the Middle East swing, where she reached semifinals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The 2022 Wimbledon champion has won back-to-back matches just once since February, losing in the third round in both Madrid and Rome.

Looking to kickstart her spring in time for Roland Garros, Rybakina looked in superb form against Wang and will next face unseeded Magda Linette for a spot in the semifinals.