Paula Badosa has broken her silence to hit back at detractors who have accused her of 'destroying' his boyfriend and ATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas' career.
Badosa and Tsitsipas have been dating for many months now and have strengthened their relationship by traveling to tournaments together. Because the Spaniard has been away from action due to a complicated back injury, she's acted as Tsitsipas' aide and her unofficial doubles coach.
Despite rumors that their love life hit a snag, the pair have been enjoying their time together even when they are not on tour. They have a dedicated Instagram account "Tsitsidosa" in which they regularly share their moments together.
Recently, Tsitsipas spoke highly of Badosa's influence admitting they "so much belong to each other." But just like everything good in life, there is no shortage of criticism. Badosa has worked her way to full fitness to be available for selection at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for Spain this week.
In an interview with El Pais ahead of Spain's first group match against Canada which will be held on home turf, she spoke at length about how accusations about "harming" and "destroying" Tsitsipas' career affected both of them.
She stated that she was hurt reading comments about her negative influence on her boyfriend's tennis, notably when the Greek endured a rough path during the US swing, just a few months after revealing their relationship to the public.
"That has hurt me a lot, because, with the whole issue of the injury, I have actually been able to dedicate myself quite a bit to helping him. We both love tennis and he is also a super-working person, we are very similar in the goals we set for ourselves. We talk a lot about tennis, and we help each other a lot."
It is unclear whether this had an effect on the rumors of their breakup after fans noted that content on their joint Instagram handle was wiped off. Badosa, however, explains that it harmed their "innocent relationship" when she has been dedicating her life to helping him despite the travails of injury and condemned people making such wild allegations.
"As you can see, I have gone to the court to support him or to the gym to accompany him, always respecting the times and his people, his team; He has also supported me a lot with the injury, so when we read those things it impacts us."
"Sometimes people are not able to understand how that can affect you, or affect a relationship. I can understand that we are public figures and that we are exposed, but in the end, we are two 25-year-old children, and all this is delicate because it is an innocent relationship."
"We have met, and it has arisen, and for people to go around saying things is quite serious because they are destroying the career of someone who has spent his entire life dedicating himself to what he does. I don't think that giving an opinion this way is very humane."