Stefanos Tsitsipas attends girlfriend Paula Badosa's training session in Dubai; holds bouquet of flowers reading "thinking of you every second"
Stefanos Tsitsipas was recently spotted at girlfriend Paula Badosa's training session in Dubai with a bouquet of flowers.
Badosa is currently in Dubai nursing the lower back injury she sustained at the Thailand Open. The injury struck during her second-round match against Russian Diana Shnaider. The Spaniard was unable to complete the match and retired hurt.
The injury also forced Badosa to withdraw from the Abu Dhabi Open, where she was slated to play Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina in the first round. The former World No. 2 is yet to confirm where she will play next, but she has been named on the Indian Wells Masters entry list.
Tsitsipas visited Badosa in Dubai and attended one of her her training sessions. In a photo posted on X from a fan account of the couple, the 25-year-old was spotted bringing in a bouquet of flowers that featured the words 'I'm thinking of you every second' for his girlfriend. The Spaniard was also seen holding a teddy bear in her hand.
Paula Badosa's topsy-turvy start to 2024
Paula Badosa's 2024 season got off to a disappointing start as she lost in the first round of the Adelaide International 6-3, 2-6, 3-6 to Bernarda Pera.
However, she showed glimpses of her past brilliance at the Australian Open 2024, where she defeated Taylor Townsend and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the third round. The Spaniard's Melbourne run was ended by Amanda Anisimova.
Badosa's next stop was the Thailand Open. In the first round, the 26-year-old made a shaky start against 19-year-old Thai Lanlana Tararudee. The youngster stunned Badosa to take the first set 6-3. However, Badosa turned things around and won the match by the clinching the next two sets 6-4, 6-1.
The former World No. 2's injury during her second-round match marked the fourth time in a year where she was forced to retire. It was also the 31st retirement of her injury-plagued career.
Despite retiring from the Thailand Open, Badosa sent an optimistic message to her fans in Spanish on X.
"Good news all in all, I haven't relapsed the injury fortunately. I'm going to work with my team now 24/7 to get the inflammation down as soon as possible so I can compete soon. Thanks for all the messages. We are still struggling...," she wrote.
The injury Paula Badosa referred to in her update was the spinal stress fracture that she suffered during the 2023 Italian Open. At the time, the fracture led to the Spaniard withdrawing from the French Open.
While she did recover in time for the Wimbledon Championships, the injury reappeared in her second-round match against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.