Paula Badosa‘s road to comeback has been full of thorns, but aiding her support Stefanos Tsitsipas remained consistent in cheering her up. The Spaniard, merely a year after sustaining a career-threatening injury, returned to the tour with fabulous results. She capped the 2024 season with a noteworthy improvement in performance but her struggles of maintaining a healthy romantic relationship didn’t reach fans’ ears until today.
The Spanish star’s season-opening act at the Australian Open didn’t go unnoticed. Her impressive form helped her reach the semifinals. With just a match away from putting her hands on a maiden Slam title, Badosa gave her best against ‘best friend’ Aryna Sabalenka in the last four but unfortunately, fell short of her quest. Before gearing up for her upcoming adventures on the tour, the Spaniard featured on the ‘Tennis Insider Club’ podcast, hosted by fellow player Caroline Garcia.
During a conversation, Badosa opened up about navigating past the demanding tour-level calendar last year. She also mentioned finding a silver lining in her relationship with Greek sensation Tsitsipas, highlighting how everything worked out for the better in the end. “I really needed time to refresh my mind and think about why I wanted to keep playing tennis. During the year and the season when it was so intense that I couldn’t think, I couldn’t walk. We were just putting a tape on what was happening.”
“The deep cause was not walked on so… we had time to enjoy a little bit and because sometimes being a couple on tour isn’t a couple at all,” she added. Badosa and Tsitsipas began dating in June 2023 and since then, the duo has consistently helped each other grow better as a person and a player. They even went on to clinch a mixed doubles win as part of the Mixed Madness exhibition showdown at the US Open last year, earning them a colossal $250,000 in prize money.
As for Tsitsipas, seeing his girlfriend overcome a stress fracture in her back and return to the top 10 gave him “a lot of motivation – it was really impressive and deserved.” He told the ATP Tour how her latest results helped him learn “a lot from this process of how to get to a Grand Slam semi-final.” However, Badosa’s return to prominence has been far from a fairy tale story.
Paula Badosa opens up about her mental health struggles
In the same podcast, Spanish superstar Paula Badosa discussed her love for the sport while outlining the pressure it brought with it. She has been quite vocal about her mental health struggles in the past, highlighting the issue on more than one occasion – namely during an appearance on Netflix’s ‘Point Break’ documentary and days before the 2019 US Open.
Acquainted with the mental fortitude essential for professional athletes to deal with the pressure, Badosa said: “Of course not. In my case, I always say that I love this sport, but there is always one moment in your life when it becomes a job. It becomes pressure, responsibility, and so many expectations that it’s very tough to handle.”
For those unaware, the Spaniard dealt with adversities of her own being embroiled in a racism row following her China Open campaign last year. She faced brutal criticism from fans after seemingly mimicking Chinese people by putting chopsticks in the corner of her eyes. Despite apologizing and taking down the post, reports suggested that she withdrew from the follow-up event in Wuhan amid the controversy.
Badosa will next take to the court after recouping from the hectic two-week Melbourne campaign. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Tsitsipas will feature in the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam.
The post “Couple on Tour Isn’t a Couple” – Paula Badosa Opens up on Relationship Struggles With Stefanos Tsitsipas Amid Hectic Schedule appeared first on EssentiallySports.
