Stefanos Tsitsipas issued a heartfelt reaction to Paula Badosa winning an end of year WTA award.
The Spaniard re-established herself as top player following a nightmare run of injuries in 2023.
Badosa played just 27 matches last season and ended her campaign and ended her season after retiring from her match against Marta Kostyuk at Wimbledon.
But 2024 Badosa gradually returned to her best form and was rewarded for her efforts as recognised by world number 11 and her partner, Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas took to social media platform X to congratulate his girlfriend Paula Badosa on winning the WTA Tour’s Comeback player of the Year award.
The 27-year-old’s return to the top 15 following an injury-interrupted year put in contention with other nominees Naomi Osaka, Karolina Muchova, Amanda Anisimova and Emma Raducanu.
But Badosa, now the World number 12, was given the award following her title win in Washington, semi-final appearance in China and a run to the US Open quarter-finals, her best run at the Grand Slam.
“My dear Paula, you’ve worked so hard and shown such resilience to reestablish yourself as a top player this year,” Tsitsipas said to Badosa, who won 37 matches in 2024.
“I couldn’t be prouder of you for winning the WTA Comeback Player of the Year award. As someone once famously said, ’Spanish never die’.”
Tsitsipas and Badosa first met in 2020 but did not connect until May 2023 and went public the following month. The pair briefly split in May 2024, but less than a month later they were back together and they are still going strong.
“We are very similar in our way of being,” Badosa told Spanish outlet Hola before the 2024 French Open. “Since we are dedicated to the same thing, we empathise a lot with each other.
“On the other hand, I think we have also experienced very similar things in the past and that has forged similar characters.
“He is a person who is perhaps a little more introverted and I am more extroverted, but I think we complement each other very well. He always mentioned that we were like soulmates and I think he is quite right.”
Tsitsipas added: “The truth is that we have had very similar lives. From the moment we picked up a racket as children, our path to professional tennis has been more or less the same. I think that most of us players have made practically the same journey.
“For me it has not been an easy journey to be here and meet Paula. I think that if it had not been for tennis, we would not have met. We must honor it for bringing us together.”
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