Paula Badosa is thankful that a brief split from her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier this year has been so crucial in strengthening their relationship.
Badosa and Tsitspas are currently in New York competing at the 2024 US Open. The Spaniard, who was born in Manhattan, kicked her women's singles campaign with an empathic 6-0, 6-3 win over Viktorija Golubic on Monday.
It extends Badosa's purple patch in North America. She has now tallied 11 wins from 13 matches in a run that yielded her first WTA title in two years at the Citi Open in Washington. She was also a semifinalist at the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati - her best result at that level in a long time.
Badosa will play Taylor Townsend of the United States in the second round. Tsitsipas, meanwhile, will square off against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the men's singles on Tuesday afternoon, seeking just his second win on hard courts this summer.
Before the main draw began, the popular tennis couple teamed up in mixed doubles during Fan Week and won the US Open's Mixed Madness tournament, which offered a lucrative $250,000 paycheck.
For Badosa, this has been a surreal moment in her professional and personal life. A few months ago, her tennis career was in limbo when she was reduced to tears after another retirement during a match in Stuttgart.
Once again, the debilitating back pain threatened to jeopardize her season. A month later, news of her breakup with Tsitsipas made the headlines.
But that period of despair was only temporary, and Badosa recently explained how their mutual split was much needed at a time when both of them were in their sixes and sevens career-wise.
But if there was one valuable learning experience they took from it, it was how to better manage their private lives. She has repeatedly stated that they wanted to keep their relationship under wraps.
"Sometimes you need a break to realize things and manage them better. That’s what we did: we had a very long talk on how we were going to deal with things going forward. Since then, it’s been great for both of us. We’re very happy with how we’re handling our relationship on and off court."
Although Badosa and Tsitsipas share a lot of intimate and private moments away from the court, the 26-year-old former World No. 2 doesn't want to get involved in her boyfriend's decision-making process about his own career.
Tsitsipas recently ended his professional relationship with his father, Apostolos, and is expected to name a new full-time coach before the end of the season.
"I found out like you guys (laughing). Later on, I called him like, ‘Could you please, maybe before press, let me know next time?’ Look, I’m a very independent woman myself and I make my own decisions."
"Of course, we talk about everything but in this situation, he wanted to do it on his own because it’s a very personal thing. It’s a family thing, so I don’t want to get involved with that. I have my opinion but I want him to make his own decisions and grow by himself."
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