Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa: All About the Tennis Stars' Romance

The tennis pros confirmed their relationship in a post-Wimbledon interview

Greek tennis pro Stefanos Tsitsipas and Spanish tennis star Paula Badosa are winning on and off the court after officially confirming their relationship at Wimbledon.

“Tsitsidosa,” the nickname they’ve become known as to fans and embraced for their shared Instagram handle, are not shy about showing each other off and talking about their newfound love in interviews.

Tsitsipas opened up about how important his relationship is to him in an interview with ESTO at the Los Cabos Open tournament in Mexico.

“I changed my life because Paula Badosa brought a bright light into it, and I did the same for her,” he said. “I’ll be completely honest, I’ve never been more excited about the future, both in my private life and in my professional life. I really want to make the most of it.”

And their friends are just as happy to see them together. “It’s a love story, it’s so beautiful and I'm super happy for Paula,” Aryna Sabalenka, fellow tennis pro and friend of Badosa’s, told Tennis Channel. “I spoke to her and she’s super happy and I’m happy for her.”

Here’s everything to know about Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa’s relationship.

They teased their romance on Spotify

Tsitsipas and Badosa turned to an unexpected social media platform to hint at their budding relationship.

In June 2023, fans of the tennis stars noticed that they changed their respective Spotify profile pictures to new selfies with each other. On Tsitsipas’ profile, he pouted playfully while Badosa made a kissy face next to him. As for Badosa’s profile picture, it was a black-and-white shot of her sticking her tongue out while Tsitsipas smiled with his mouth wide open.

After noticing that their new profile photos had been spotted, the new couple had some fun on Twitter (now known as X).

“Waiting for the Spotify bonus after that… 💚🤷‍♀️,” Badosa tweeted, tagging Spotify Spain.

Shortly after, Tsitsipas quote tweeted her post and tagged Spotify Greece, writing, “Ok, so we’re going regional on this? 🙄.”

They first connected in Rome

In a Q&A with moderators and fans at the 2023 US Open in New York City, Tsitsipas told the story of how he and Badosa started dating.

He revealed that they started talking in Rome, during the Italian Open, when she was facing off against Ons Jabeur on May 12.

"I made a bet with myself. I said 'I'll send Badosa a message if she wins her second round match in Rome' and she was playing very well, so I thought 'Hey I have a good chance of achieving that today,' " Tsitsipas said.

He added, “She did end up winning the match, so I kept my promise and I messaged her, ‘Congratulations,’ and I guess you can say, that’s how it started."

Tsitsipas is the romantic one in the relationship

In a TikTok challenge filmed together, Badosa confirmed that Tsitsipas is the more romantic one in their relationship. The couple also revealed that he was the first to say "I love you" and initiated their first kiss.

Tsitsipas' sweet side even extends beyond his relationship with Badosa. When he's not on the court, the tennis star likes to make music, much of which has romantic undertones.

“I enjoy music. I feel like every person has his own identity and every person has his own taste in music,” Tsitsipas told Roland-Garros.com in 2021 after releasing a 10-track album on SoundCloud.

His lo-fi hip-hop album, titled Only Yesterday, showcases the player’s affectionate side, with songs like “Morning Cuddles” and “I Always Think Of U In The Midnight Rain.”

They almost played together at Wimbledon

Tsitsipas and Badosa aren’t just romantic partners — they’ve also been paired up on the court. The duo were scheduled to play as a team in a mixed doubles match at Wimbledon in July 2023, but Badosa had to withdraw at the last minute due to a spinal injury.

Though it didn't come to fruition, Tsitsipas was excited about the opportunity to compete together.

“It’s honestly a pleasure to be doing this with people,” he said when asked about playing in doubles matches with both his girlfriend and brother, Petros Tsitsipas.

“Some of them have entered my life recently and I would have never done it if wasn’t for that so Paulita let's do it!” he added.

Badosa spoke to the Associated Press about what it was like to support Tsitsipas from the sidelines.

“Watching it from the outside, maybe I get a little bit more nervous, because I cannot control it. But I’m happy that he got the win, and it was a crazy match. Happy that we both got through first round,” she said.

They have a healthy competitive streak

Both at the top of their sport, Tsitsipas and Badosa like to use each other’s successes as benchmarks to surpass in their own careers.

During a press conference after winning the final at Los Cabos, Tsitsipas teased, "My goals are to surpass Paula's best ranking, which is world number two, and to get better than that."

But at the end of the day, they really just want to see each other succeed.

“I bring the best out of my tennis with her when I practice ... I honestly don’t even mind if she beats me. I want her to beat me. That means she’s getting better, and I want her to have an incredible career and reach world No. 1,” Tsitsipas said in a press conference at the 2023 National Bank Open in Toronto.

“My biggest dream of all is for us to do it together. To be World No. 1 one day together,” he added. “I think I can truly say that I have fulfilled my biggest, deepest desire in tennis to not just have done it myself but to have done it with a person that will be there for me for the rest of my life.”

They have a joint Instagram account

Tsitsipas and Badosa give glimpses of their relationship on their shared Instagram account, which has a handle inspired by their couple name, Tsitsidosa. The account's bio reads, “'Best friends & soulmates. Nothing less; nothing more. 💚,' ” with both of their individual handles tagged.

Posts include photos of their travels together in N.Y.C., Greece and Dubai, as well as romantic black-and-white snaps with captions like, “Your eyes stole all my words away” and simply, “Connection.”

Badosa also used the joint account to post a birthday slideshow for Tsitsipas, writing, “I feel so lucky to share life next to you. Keep shining, keep inspiring, keep being you. Love you ❤️."

Most recently, the pair shared photos of them together in New York for the US Open, where Tsitsipas competed before ultimately losing to Dominic Stricker in the second round. Badosa was also spotted cheering her boyfriend on in the stands during his victorious first round match against Milos Raonic.

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