Paula Badosa realized the best during her injury period what kind of a boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas was as the Greek was "suffering too much" seeing his girlfriend go through a very rough and challenging time.
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Before the tennis power couple went public with their relationship in 2023 June, the ATP star messaged the Spaniard during the Rome Open and that's how they started speaking. But if you remember well, Rome was also the tournament where the former WTA world No. 2 sustained a back injury that forced her to skip the French Open.
At the time, it wasn't regarded as something too serious. But then, Badosa only ended up playing Wimbledon in the rest of the 2023 season - even there, she retired mid-match in the second round.
During that period, the 26-year-old Spaniard didn't hide that it was crushing for her to be dealing with an injury that just wasn't going away. And Tsitsipas saw it better than anyone else.
"Stefanos was an unconditional support for me in all those months I spent lying on a sofa. He is a very sensitive person and, sometimes, he empathized so much that he ended up suffering too much," Badosa told Spanish magazine Hola.
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After seeing how much it was impacting the Greek, the Spaniard did her best to at least look better in front of him. So when she won her first title in two and a half years in Washington this past summer, the 26-year-old knew who to contact first.
"There were times when I had to cheer myself up just for him, who was constantly looking for solutions to make me feel better. That's why when I won the title in Washington, he was the first person I called and mentioned because the truth is that he has been very important in my recovery," Badosa said.
Tsitsipas says he predicted years earlier he and Badosa would be together
As mentioned above, the two started their relationship in 2023 May. But it was three and a half years earlier that the Greek had his first crush on the Spanish tennis star and the feeling that somehow they would be a couple one day.
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Its funny, but Paula and I never really met during tournaments. In fact, we might have only met two or three times before I actually got a chance to go up to her and say hello and introduce myself. I would say the first time I noticed Paula was when I saw her at the 2020 Australian Open, playing on Centre Court. It was love at first sight and I was completely mesmerized from that day on. I remember thinking to myself that one day we would be together," Tsitsipas told Hola.
Badosa and Tsitsipas briefly split, but it was quickly resolved
In early May, the four-time WTA champion announced through a message posted on her Instagram Story that she and the two-time Grand Slam champion decided to go their separate ways. The news came as a shock since there were no indications that their relationship was rocky or anything like that.
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But two weeks later, they were spotted together in Monte Carlo - and after arriving together in Paris for the French Open - Tsitsipas confirmed that the rumors were true and that they reconciled. During that particular conversation with reporters, the 26-year-old suggested there was no real reason for their breakup and it didn't take long before they realized that they needed to be with other.
We are together. Im going to explain why some people create different stories about us. Its not that I care, but I dont think people should take it like that. Paula didnt do anything wrong and neither did I. It was hard for us to be apart and I was also going through difficult times," Tsitsipas explained at the time.
I would say that I didnt take it very well either, because I felt the pressure of the tour, of my work. It seemed like a mountain to combine the two things (tennis and romantic life) and I made the decision to take a break. After two or three weeks I realized that she is a person who has supported me a lot and, when she tried to talk to me again, I felt how intense the love we have for each other is."
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After these comments by Tsitsipas, Badosa simply stated to reporters that she didn't have anything else to add.
Since starting their relationship, the two tennis star mentioned several times that would love to achieve their tennis dreams together - which is winning a Grand Slam and reaching the world No. 1 ranking.
It hasn't happened so far for Tsitsipas and Badosa but they still have time to make their dreams come true.
