Paula Badosa slams ‘disrespectful’ criticism of Stefanos Tsitsipas relationship
Paula Badosa has slammed criticism of her relationship with Stefanos Tsitsipas, claiming comments made about the two are “disrespectful.”
Former world No 2 Badosa and ATP star Tsitsipas, a two-time major finalist, are among the highest-profile relationships within tennis.
The pair went public with their relationship a year ago and have attracted huge attention ever since, briefly splitting this spring – only to confirm they were back together at the French Open.
The relationship between Badosa and Tsitsipas – nicknamed ‘Tsitsidosa’ – has attracted huge scrutiny in recent months, particularly on social media.
Both have been accused of not taking their respective careers seriously enough and focusing too hard on their relationships – while a recent video posted by the Greek, currently world No 12 on the ATP Tour, also attracted criticism.
However, speaking to Spanish site La Vanguardia, Badosa – who reached the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier this month – provided an impassioned defence of her relationship.
She said: “Personally, what bothers me the most is that people talk about other people’s realities.
“I can understand criticism of my professional side, of my tennis, of whether I lose or win, but linking that to something personal seems disrespectful to me.
“Criticism is never easy to deal with, although sometimes we find it funny because people don’t realize that we are two people who share the same passion.
“Sometimes, apart from separately, we also train together, so in the end we train as much or more than anyone else.
“I could understand this criticism of distraction more if it were with a person from another world, but being two athletes with a very clear objective, what I think is that people don’t even know what they are judging.”
Greek ace Tsitsipas was back in action at the ATP 250 event in Gstaad this past week, reaching the last four – before a loss to eventual champion Matteo Berrettini.
He will be in action at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games later this week, playing singles, doubles with brother Petros – and potentially mixed with Maria Sakkari.
However, Badosa is skipping Olympic action and is instead prioritising the hard-court summer, amid her recent struggles with fitness and injury issues.
The Spaniard surged back up the rankings after her run to week two at Wimbledon and will be hoping to capitalise on that momentum this summer – with big rankings points up for grabs.
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