LONDON: The Stefanos Tsitsipas-Paula Badosa romance blossomed in Rome a couple of months ago when the Greek world No. 5 congratulated the Spaniard for her victory over Ons Jabeur in the second round. It started with a text message.
Badosa, 25, ranked No. 2 in the world some 15 months ago, has struggled with injuries this season. The New York-born pro, whose parents Mireira Gibert Baro and Josep Badosa worked in the fashion industry, pulled out of the Australian Open with an abductor injury in January. She then withdrew from the French Open with a stress fracture of the lower back.
Badosa, 5 feet 11, ranked 34, returns to action at Wimbledon, where she opens against American Alison Riske-Amrtiraj.
Tsitsipas, 24, made their relationship public with a series of social media posts after his quarterfinal exit in Roland Garros. The Greek, who plays Dominic Thiem in the Wimbledon first round, and could go up against former champion Andy Murray in the second round, is short of matches on grass.
He has won just one of his four matches on the surface in recent weeks.
Tsitsipas told Spanish media that his girlfriend was his favourite tennis player.
“I admire her very much. She’s my favorite player,” Tsitsipas said of Badosa. “I find her a very interesting personality. Not only because of her appearance, but also because of what she has inside.
“It’s very rare that there’s a player on the other side of the circuit who I can talk about like that. It makes me love tennis more,” he said.
“She’s the most understanding person I’ve ever been with."
