It seems that Stefanos Tsitsipas did not get the memo about taking things slow and steady in a new relationship.
For just a few short months into his romance with fellow tennis star Paula Badosa, the world No 5 Greek, who beat Andy Murray on Friday, has declared the Spanish beauty his ‘soulmate’. Subtle, Stefanos.
‘I feel happy and content,’ Tsitsipas told Eurosport recently after they went public with their relationship following weeks of hints online and rumour in the locker room.
A kiss on the cheek in a hotel room and her styling his hair was something of a giveaway, too.
‘I haven’t really felt that type of connection with anyone before. I don’t mean to sound cringe or anything because that’s the reality and that’s what I am faced with,’ he added.
Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas have dominated talk during the first week of Wimbledon
Badosa has been dating world No 5 Tsitsipas in recent months and they share an Instagram
‘I am extremely blessed and happy that this came at this phase of my life. Of course there is attraction but it’s also sometimes just a soul interaction and getting to fall in love with her mind. It’s very rare that these things happen.’
Badosa, a 25-year-old who was born in New York City but represents Spain, has been ranked as high as No 2 in the world and is currently No 35. Her best Grand Slam showing was a run to the quarterfinals at last year’s French Open.
Tsitsipas, a 24-year-old from Greece, has been ranked as high as No 3 and is seeded No 5 at Wimbledon. He twice was a runner-up at major tournaments, on both occasions losing in the final to 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic – at the 2021 French Open and at this year’s Australian Open.
So between them, they have plenty of talent on the court.
They were due to come together and play in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon but Badosa’s back injury, which saw her retire from her singles second round match on Friday, saw them abandon that.
Earlier in the week Badosa, who has suffered with anxiety in her past, wore a big smile and was, which is unusual for her, oversharing about her steamy dreams. It soon went viral.
‘I was injured in Australia. I watched his match, the final. Of course I had jet lag because I was in Spain. I decided to watch that match,’ she said.
Tsitsipas beat Andy Murray on Friday while Badosa withdrew on Friday with a back problem
‘Surprising, because I never dream about tennis players, but I dreamt about him that night, that we were both winning Australian Open.
‘Then it was like we were having a very romantic moment, but I’m not going to explain. I’m just going to leave it there. (Laughter).’
Like many modern couples they are eager to do everything together and that extends to Instagram.
Their joint account – which already has 62,000 followers – is gushing.
‘Best friends & soulmates. Nothing less; nothing more,’ reads the account’s biography.
Do they tone it down in the captions? Think again.
‘Your eyes stole all my words away,’ their most recent post reads, as they stare into each other’s eyes.
‘0 Grand Slams in one photo, but hey, love conquers all!’ another says.
But not everyone is as starry eyed about their relationship as the fan accounts which pop up with every passing day to ‘ship’ the two stars together.
Badosa decided to tell reporters at Wimbledon about one of her more graphic dreams
There’s footage of the happy couple working out together in a pool in Dubai on their Instagram
Former tennis champion John McEnroe was shown footage of the happy couple working out together in a pool in Dubai. The American, however, was having none of it.
‘Training, oh is that what it is? Is that training, Clare?’ he told host Clare Balding, on the BBC.
When Tsitsipas was told during his on-court interview on Wednesday that Badosa had advanced, too, he said that was news to him and offered congratulations, later referring to her as ‘Paulita.’
Standing next to his father in the crowd, Badosa put her hands together in the shape of a heart.
‘It´s different kind of nerves,’ Badosa said in describing what it’s like to be cheering for him as opposed to playing her own contests.
‘Watching it from the outside, maybe I get a little bit more nervous, because I cannot control it. But I´m happy that he got the win, and it was a crazy match. Happy that we both got through first round.’
It is also worth noting that Tsitsipas has few friends inside tennis. He admitted as much earlier this year.
Tsitsipas and partner Badosa were also due to compete in the mixed doubles for the first time
Aussie bad boy Nick Kyrgios savaged the Greek earlier in the year when he claimed ’no-one’ in the locker room liked him, and when asked why he’s something of a lone wolf, Tsitsipas said: ‘I just don’t feel like I relate to a lot of them, in terms of how I approach life.’
But with Badosa he wants to connect on a deep and philosophical level. The two only appear to have eyes for the other right now.
‘It is something very beautiful because we empathise with each other a lot, we have things very clear, we are both very ambitious, but at the same time we share our personal lives and we share many things,’ Badosa told Spanish outlet El Larguero in June.
‘We have a very solid and strong connection, so he shares with me his good and bad times, his experiences, just like I do with him, so we support each other and give each other a lot of strength.
‘Apart from that, we kind of pushed each other to be better, I was recovering from the injury and he has come here to help me every day in my worse and better moments. I think we contribute a lot to each other.’
One stumbling block might just be Badosa’s apparent disdain for her future father in-law, as she clearly expressed in their Centre Court box on Thursday night.
Apostolos Tsitsipas (left) has been his son’s long-term coach and is regularly in his corner
Badosa, who was born in New York City but represents Spain, has been ranked as high as No 2
The Greek fifth seed has described Badosa as his ‘soulmate’ despite only publicly being together since May’s French Open
She was also pictured giving her boyfriend’s father and coach, Apostolos, the side-eye during the match
The Greek fifth seed was three sets into a sapping battle with Murray under the lights on Centre Court before play was paused just before the 11pm curfew, with the former rivals returning to action on Friday for the fourth set.
Having lost the first set tie-break, the two-time former champion had fought back, taking the second and third set to lead 2-1, recovering from a late injury scare just before the game was halted.
With her partner struggling to hold back Murray’s comeback charge, Badosa was seen glaring at the back of Apostolos’ head after the 55-year-old turned to look at her in between points.
But rather than just a brief glance back at her boyfriend’s long-term coach, the Spanish star shot him a stare lasting several seconds, seemingly less than impressed by Tsitsipas’ father.
Few took much interest when Badosa was dating model Juan Betancourt, but now her relationship – and her sex life – is crossing over into professional tennis discourse.
To some, like McEnroe, the loved-up pair are slightly nauseating and the likes of Kyrgios no doubt steer well clear of the joint Instagram account but for Tsitsipas and Badosa they see it as love at first sight.
