Paula Badosa is just one step away from reaching her maiden Grand Slam final. She has advanced to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, after a string of impressive performances. But her mind is not only on her on-court exploits. Her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas is going through a tough phase after his early exit at the AO continued the run of poor results and Badosa has continued to offer him support in his tough time.

Despite his first-round exit Tsitsipas cheered on his girlfriend from the player’s box for her next two wins but was nowhere to be seen as she overcame Coco Gauff to book her place in the last four. According to multiple sources, he was seen at the Athens airport just a few days ago and just a couple of days ago he shared a video clip on his IG where he can be seen enjoying a practice session with his brother Petros Tsitsipas.

In the caption of the clip he wrote, “Sometimes you need to go back to where it started to remember why you started.” Notably, after his first-round exit Tsitsipas mentioned that it was “karma” that hit him after he withdrew from playing doubles alongside his brother to focus on singles. It seems he is looking to find his form by going back to the basics and comforts of similar surroundings. His girlfriend was quick to acknowledge his Instagram post, with a supportive message.

“Couldn’t agree more with the caption,” Badosa commented on the post. Stefanos Tsitsipas and his brother, Petros were also seen spending some time with Eirini Kapogianni, their orthodontist since their return to Greece. This isn’t the first during the ongoing Australian Open, that Badosa has shown her support for Tsitsipas.

Shortly after her 6-1, 6-0 second-round win against Taila Gibson, she was heard saying, “He (Stefanos Tsitsipas) always complains about my long matches, so today I am proud of myself. It’s incredible to have him by my side, he inspires me a lot, especially such a good player. He gives me a lot of advice. Let’s give him a round of applause because he’s not going through his best moment, but he will come back.”

Badosa was again on hand to offer encouragement to his boyfriend after his first-round U.S Open exit last year. “Big shout out to him. He’s going through tough moments – but he’s a champion and he will always be a champion,” she said as the pair prepared to participate in the mixed doubles last year.

It has been a tough few months for the Greek on the court, especially when it comes to his Grand Slam form. Apart from his first-round exits in the U.S. Open and Australia, he also suffered a second-round defeat at Wimbledon.

During his 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4 loss to American Alex Michelsen Down Under, Tsitsipas frustration was visible. At the start of the fourth set, he lost his serve, angrily gestured towards his box, and twice smashed his racket onto his racket bag. Meanwhile, Badosa and Tsitsipas also caught the attention of fans during the former third-round win over Marta Kostyuk.

After winning the first set, Badosa found herself down 0-5 in the second. She was spotted gesticulating wildly toward her player’s box, where her boyfriend was seated. Tsitsipas attempted to calm her down and it perceived that Badosa offered him her racket, drawing a smile from him. However, she later clarified that her gestures were aimed at her coach sitting in front of Tsitsipas while appreciating the Greek’s support.

“Yeah, well I was saying that to my coach honestly but no, he (Tsitsipas) was very supportive, giving me amazing tips like going for being aggressive. He was supporting me at every point. I think he was more nervous than me but I really appreciate that, his support here,” she said.

Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas started dating each other in June 2023. However, in Mary 2024, they had a brief split before getting back together again.

Stefanos Tsitispas has never hesitated to shower praise on Paula Badosa and has often spoken about her constant support, “She has brought a lot of blessings into my life and I am proud that I can call her my girlfriend and my life partner….We have learned a lot from each other, we have learned how to fight, how to accept difficult situations and try to go through them.” His admiration for Badosa is so extreme that he once even called her the “Novak Djokovic of Women’s Tennis.”

That’s how much love and respect they have for each other despite spending most of their days staying away from each other. Now the question is can Badosa beat the world number one?

American tennis legend shares his thoughts on what Paula Badosa needs to do to upset the Belarusian superstar

Paula Badosa was ranked 100 a year ago and now she’s on the verge of creating a historic moment in her career. After securing her spot in the SF of the 2025 AO, she got a bit emotional. Badosa said, “I mean, a year ago, I was here with my back that I didn’t know if I had to retire from this sport, and now I’m here playing against the best in the world. I won today. I’m in a semi-final. So I would never think that a year after I would be here.”

However, winning a Grand Slam title is a completely different thing but defending it for the third time in a row is a different challenge. Aryna Sabalenka is currently aiming for her 20th consecutive win at the AO. Her last defeat at the AO was almost 1094 days ago. Does Badosa have any chance of stopping this incredible run?

Well,  during the recent episode of the Quick Served podcast, Andy Roddick explained what Paula Badosa needs to do to upset Sabalenka. He said, “[Aryna] Sabalenka’s got the better of this one overall, I think she has to play below her floor for [Paula] Badosa to have a chance, and I love Paula Badosa, I’ve been singing her praises this entire two weeks. It just becomes a matchup issue. I think Badosa has to serve great for this to go her way.”

Paula Badsoa hit only 3 aces against Coco Gauff in the QF. So, perhaps she needs to pull in a few more to trouble the number one in this match. Do you think hitting aces can win the race for the Spaniard?

Update: Paula Badosa was unable to overcome her “soulmate” Aryna Sabalenka in their semi-final encounter in Melbourne. Sabalenka fought back from an early setback to win 6-4 6-2 to secure her place in a third consecutive Australian Open final.