Paul Skenes' girlfriend pulls off gravity-defying headstand on Italian paddle boat over Mediterranean Sea in black swimsuit

Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star starting pitcher Paul Skenes is enjoying his time away from the diamond with his girlfriend, Olivia Dunne, after his season ended with the conclusion of the regular season last month.

While Skenes is known for his remarkable ability to locate his electric fastballs, Dunne showed off her flexibility during their vacation in Italy. The former LSU gymnast has been updating fans about her Italian getaway with social media posts this week.

In her latest TikTok post, Dunne showed off her remarkable balance as she pulled off a headstand on a paddleboard in the Mediterranean Sea. She wrote a message for her "haters" in the post.

"Never have I seen my haters doing a headstand on a paddleboard in the Mediterranean," Dunne wrote in the clip.

Dunne announced her retirement from gymnastics earlier this year after completing her collegiate tenure with the LSU Tigers. She competed for LSU from 2021 to 2025 and helped the team win its first NCAA National Championship title in 2024. She revealed a prolonged knee injury as one of the reasons behind her retirement in April.

Paul Skenes' girlfriend Olivia Dunne shuts down fan demanding Pirates ace's trade to Yankees

Olivia Dunne has been sharing glimpses from her Italian holiday on social media. She shared a view of the Mediterranean Sea in a selfie while donning an off-shoulder white bikini.

"Selfini," Dunne captioned her post.

The former LSU star's post attracted the attention of her friends and followers, including baseball fans. One fan urged Dunne to ask Paul Skenes to join the New York Yankees.

"Tell Paul to demand a trade to the Yankees," the fan wrote.

Dunne clapped back at the request, writing:

"Sir, that has nothing to do with my selfini."

The fan request comes in the wake of Skenes' second consecutive season without postseason baseball. Although the Pirates flamethrower has earned successive All-Star game starts, his team has failed to back him from the mound.

The Pirates' underwhelming performances have also sparked rumors of Skenes' trade to one of the big market teams, with the Yankees being one of the teams linked at the trade deadline in July.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash