Stefanos Tsitsipas recently opened up about his girlfriend Paula Badosa’s remarkable run at the 2025 Australian Open, where the Spaniard made her maiden Grand Slam semifinal. After fighting a lower back injury for over a year, Badosa made a triumphant return, defeating players like 17th seed Marta Kostyuk, rising star Olga Danilovic, and third seed Coco Gauff on her way to the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Tsitsipas didn’t enjoy the same fate. The former finalist was eliminated in the opening round by American boy wonder Alex Michelsen in four sets. However, the Greek didn’t leave Melbourne and decided to cheer his girlfriend on during her run.
In an interview with ATP Tour on Sunday, Stefanos Tsitsipas admitted that he was strict with Paula Badosa during her dream run, as he wanted her to bring out her best tennis on the court.
“We had serious conversations during her run,” Tsitsipas said. “I was being strict with her as I didn’t want to be too soft. Because in this sort of circumstance, she’s learned to play her own way. But I feel there’s so much potential in her that she can extract from her game and use that to spread even more of her tennis identity better inside the court.
The 26-year-old felt wanted to bring the former WTA World No. 2 out of her comfort zone in order to make her play her best tennis.
“I feel like there were certain times in the past where she was underplaying. She just didn’t realise it because she was stuck in her comfort zone. But what I’m trying to help her do is get her out of her comfort zone and make her more dangerous on the court.
Tsitsipas sent an encouraging message to Badosa following her semifinal exit to Aryna Sabalenka. He also said that he found his girlfriend’s performance “inspiring.”
Leave a Reply