Paula Badosa joins Stefanos Tsitsipas & his brother Petros to celebrate Antwerp doubles win, playfully claims trophy after posing with Greek's family
Paula Badosa celebrated alongside her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas and his brother Petros as they won their first doubles title as a team at the 2023 European Open in Antwerp.
Tsitsipas' singles campaign at the ATP 250 event came to an end in the semifinals with a straight-set defeat to French teenager Arthur Fils. However, the Greek found success in the doubles competition, teaming up with his brother Petros.
Entering the tournament with a 7-24 win-loss record as a team, the duo kicked off their campaign with a 7-6(7), 7-6(2) win over David Vega Hernandez and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela. They advanced to the semifinals after beating the fourth-seeded duo Matwe Middlekoop and Andreas Mies in straight sets.
In a closely contested semifinal encounter, the Greek duo secured a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6(5), 13-11 win over Sam Weissborn and Romain Areneodo, saving two match points.
The brothers beat Adam Pavlasek and Ariel Behar in the final, winning 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-8 in one hour and 37 minutes. The victory marked the pair's first-ever doubles title together, as well as the maiden tour-level doubles title for Petros Tsitsipas.
Following their win, Stefanos Tsitsipas escorted his girlfriend Paula Badosa onto the court to join the celebrations. The Spaniard posed for photos with the winning duo and their parents before playfully claiming one of the trophies and holding it aloft for the crowd.
Badosa continued to express her appreciation for the duo's triumph on social media.
"Best team," she posted on her Instragram story with heart emojis.
The Spaniard also hilariously reacted to her own antics during the celebrations.
"đź¤đź¤Łâť¤ď¸Ź," she posted.
Stefanos Tsitsipas: "To have Paula Badosa by my side now is great, I’m going through the best time of my life"
During a press conference at the European Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas disclosed that meeting Paula Badosa had transformed his outlook on life.
He confessed to previously being overly focused on tennis, which left him with minimal time for family and personal relationships.
"My meeting with Paula (Badosa) gave me another vision of life in general.
"Before, it was always tennis, tennis, tennis, that was all that mattered, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And during that part of my young career, I didn’t spend enough time with my family," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.
The 25-year-old expressed his delight at having Badosa alongside him, adding that he's experiencing the best phase of his life.
"Maybe for some, these connections aren’t so important, but for me they are crucial. These are elements of my life that also require time.
"Not really energy, because they’re just part of me. So to have Paula by my side now is great. I’m going through the best time of my life. I have the right people around me, I have no doubts with that," Tsitsipas said.
Following his campaign in Antwerp, Stefanos Tsitsipas will be in action at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The fourth seed locks horns with Dominic Thiem in a blockbuster first-round clash.