In Pictures: Stefanos Tsitsipas & girlfriend Paula Badosa meet soccer legend David Beckham & other Inter Miami stars, receive Lionel Messi's jersey
Tennis stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa are enjoying their time in Miami post their Miami Open exit. They recently met David Beckham at the FIU Football Stadium, home to Inter Miami.
Badosa shared photos of their visit on Instagram on March 26. During their meeting, Beckham personally greeted them and gifted custom Inter Miami jerseys. Badosa received one with her name, while Tsitsipas was given Lionel Messi's iconic number 10 shirt.
Badosa also met up with fellow Spanish sporting icons Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, who play for Inter Miami after a successful time together at FC Barcelona.
"It was fun," Badosa wrote alongside a picture of her, Tsitsipas, and Beckham.
"A different morning," she wrote alongside picture with Alba and Busquets. (translated from Spanish)
Stefanos Tsitsipas also shared images from his day with David Beckham and other Inter Miami players. The Greek player gave Beckham a tennis racket, and Beckham, in return, gifted him a signed Adidas sneaker along with the Messi jersey.
"Pink and black, never looking back. ⚽️🦩," Tsitsipas captioned the post.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa suffer early exits at Miami Open 2024
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa have stayed back in Miami after their relatively early exits at the 2024 Miami Open. Tsitsipas was seeded 10 in men's singles draw and faced Denis Shapovalov in the second round after a first-round bye. The Canadian easily swept aside the Greek in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, making it one of the upsets of the tournament.
Stefanos Tsitsipas also played doubles at the Miami Open and partnered up with former Australian Open doubles champion Thanasi Kokkinakis. The duo defeated Alex de Minaur and Rinky Hijikata in the opening round 6-3, 6-4 before losing to No. 3 seed Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 7-5, 7-6 (4).
Paula Badosa had better luck than Tsitsipas and notched a win in her singles campaign in Miami. In her first-round match, she faced wildcard Simona Halep and came back from a set down to defeat the two-time Grand Slam champion 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. She faced No. 2 seed and close friend Aryna Sabalenka, who was playing her first match since the passing of her boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov, in the second round and lost in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.