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Ons Jabeur came up with a hilarious reaction after Paula Badosa picked the Tunisian as her best friend on the WTA Tour over Aryna Sabalenka.
Badosa and Sabalenka share a close friendship and have often expressed their admiration for each other. They have also teamed up for doubles matches in the past. However, in singles, they are intense rivals, having faced each other on five occasions. The Belarusian leads their head-to-head 3-2.
Jabeur, Badosa, and Sabalenka are all in Stuttgart for the ongoing Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. In addition to vying for the singles title, Jabeur and Badosa are also playing doubles at the WTA 500 tournament.
During an interaction with the media in Stuttgart, the Tunisian momentarily took charge of the microphone and asked Badosa:
"Very important question, because everybody wants to know, who is your best friend on tour?"
"You," the Spaniard replied.
An excited Jabeur turned to the cameraperson and yelled:
"Send me the tape! Send me."
Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa set for their sixth meeting on the WTA Tour in Stuttgart
The Round of 16 at the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart is set to feature the sixth clash on the WTA Tour between Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka. The Spaniard started her Stuttgart campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Diana Shnaider. Sabalenka, seeded second at the WTA 500 event, received a first-round bye.
However, before clashing against the Belarusian, Badosa has doubles duty alongside Jabeur. The duo will take on the third-seeded doubles pairing of Nadia Kichenok and Shuko Aoyama in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, April 16. Jabeur is yet to start her singles campaign in Stuttgart. She is lined up for a Round-of-32 encounter against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Badosa and Sabalenka's last meeting came in the Round of 64 at this year's Miami Open. It marked a straightforward 6-4, 6-3 win for the Belarusian. However, the match went beyond tennis, as it came on the back of the tragic death of Sabalenka's ex-boyfriend, Konstantin Koltsov.
After Badosa defeated Simona Halep in the first round in Miami, she was asked about the Belarusian's situation. The Spaniard refused to delve deep into the matter but said she had spoken with her 'best friend' Sabalenka about it.
"I don't want to talk about it. But of course, she's one of my best friends. Yesterday, I spoke with her a lot of time. This morning the same. So I know what she's going through. I know the entire situation. That for me is a little bit shocking also to go through that because at the end, she's my best friend and I don't want her to suffer," Badosa said.
Aryna Sabalenka's Miami Open campaign came to an abrupt end after a shock loss to 32nd seed Anhelina Kalinina in the Round of 32.
