Stefanos Tsitsipas: "To have Paula Badosa by my side is great, I'm going through the best time of my life"

Stefanos Tsitsipas has recently emphasized the importance of his relationship with his girlfriend Paula Badosa, as he claimed to be living the best years of his life.

Tsitsipas last competed at the 2023 Shanghai Masters where he lost to Frenchman Ugo Humbert 4-6, 6-3, 5-7 in the third round. The World No. 7 is facing a performance dip in recent months since his title victory at the Los Cabos Open in August, where he defeated Alex de Minaur in the final.

In a press conference at the 2023 European Open in Antwerp, where he will begin his campaign tomorrow (October 19), Stefanos Tsitsipas admitted to being obsessively focused on tennis until he met his girlfriend Paula Badosa.

"My meeting with Paula [Badosa] gave me another vision of life in general. Before, it was always tennis, tennis, tennis, that was all that mattered, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And during that part of my young career, I didn’t spend enough time with my family," Tsitsipas said.

The Greek further explained that personal connections are very important to him. He also claimed to be enjoying his life and remained hopeful of earning more accolades with the Spaniard by his side.

"Maybe for some, these connections aren’t so important, but for me they are crucial. These are elements of my life that also require time. Not really energy, because they’re just part of me. So to have Paula by my side now is great. I’m going through the best time of my life. I have the right people around me, I have no doubts with that," Tsitsipas said.

"Everything is clear in my mind and I think it brings freshness to my tennis and to the way I want to succeed in the rest of my career, with these people by my side, and that is very important to me," the 25-year-old added.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas hopes to turn things around at the European Open 2023

Stefanos Tsitsipas pictured at the 2023 US Open

During the same press conference at the ATP 250 event in Antwerp, Stefanos Tsitsipas admitted to having poor performances over the past few months. The 25-year-old said that he was not disciplined enough and has realigned his focus to improve his performance.

"These last three, four months, I haven’t managed to gain many points, I admit. I relied a little too much on what I had learned," Tsitsipas said, adding, "I thought I could also succeed by putting discipline aside a little and focusing a little more on my talent. But that’s not how it works."

The Greek was hopeful of ending the year on a positive note and claimed to have trained harder than before.

"Deep down, I feel like I want to turn things around with a good end to the season. I’m very hungry as I start this last indoor tour. I have never trained so much in my entire career," Tsitsipas said.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top seed at the European Open and has received a bye in the opening round. He will square off against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round tomorrow.