"To see Paula Badosa suffer made me suffer even more" - Stefanos Tsitsipas divulges girlfriend's "hunger" amid similar injury struggles

Stefanos Tsitsipas recently opened up about his girlfriend Paula Badosa’s injury struggles and how he, himself, dealt with a similar setback.

Ranked No. 93 in the world, Badosa has largely been out of action for the past 15 months. While she initially sustained a thigh injury in January last year, her prolonged ordeal is mainly attributed to a persistent back injury, which she suffered at the 2023 Italian Open. The former World No. 2 has won just seven matches since.

About his girlfriend’s injury woes, Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is contesting the Barcelona Open this week, recently said:

"(She’s) much better. I have been obviously there the entire time seeing her progress and seeing how she develops and gets better," he said during his appearance on Tennis Channel.

Incidentally, Tsitsipas suffered the same fate at the tail end of last year, when a lower back injury ruined his chances of winning a second ATP Finals title. The former World No. 3 hinted that the simultaneous setbacks took an emotional toll on the couple.

"Paula has had a very bad injury in her back. People do not understand the difficult times that she has gone through," he said. "It’s quite unbelievable that I kind of followed her footsteps of the injury – had a very similar injury. Mine came about five months later, right on the same spot where she had it."

Stefanos Tsitsipas said that Paula Badosa's injury was severe.

"She did have it much more severe that I did. And to go through these difficulties and to see her suffer so much made me suffer even more myself, you know, being in a similar situation months later," he added.

On Sunday, April 14, Stefanos Tsitsipas was crowned the Monte-Carlo Masters champion. The Greek has won three Masters 1000 titles in his career so far, each coming at the same event (2021, 2022, 2024). Thus his 6-1, 6-4 win over Casper Ruud meant that the two-time Grand Slam finalist ended his two-year-long drought of winning big titles.

With the triumph, he also re-entered the top 10 after a brief absence. Wishing a similar fate for Paula Badosa, the 25-year-old said:

"Now I feel like her fitness is back. I feel like she’s building up her game again. I have no reason (not) to believe that she’s gonna be not just at the same level as she was before, but even better."

He added that the former World No. 2 is “hungry” for on-court success.

"The hunger is there. She hasn’t been playing a lot and I have never seen Paula more hungry and more determined to get out on the court and do big things," Stefanos Tsitsipas noted.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas on girlfriend Paula Badosa facing best friend Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart: "Happening again? Crazy"

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa pictured with Aryna Sabalenka at 2024 Indian Wells Open

Paula Badosa is now competing at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. She is through to the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Diana Shnaider.

The Spaniard has set up a second-round meeting with her best friend Aryna Sabalenka. Their previous clash came in the second round of the Miami Open in March. Sabalenka won that match 6-4, 6-3.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was unaware of the upcoming match-up, presumably due to his own hectic schedule, expressed his astonishment at the duo drawing each other for the second time within a month.

"No way! Is that happening again? There you go. That’s crazy. That’s a thriller. That’s a popcorn match. No really, it’s a very interesting match. They are able to produce some great tennis - both of them – when they play each other," he said on Tennis Channel.

Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka have met each other five times in their career, with the latter leading 3-2 in their head-to-head.

Both are vying for their first title at the event. Sabalenka has twice been the runner-up (2022, 2023) while Badosa was the semifinalist in 2022.