Paula Badosa is having an impressive run at the ongoing US Open. However, that does not mean she had a great time after winning her recent match. Reason? the visit from her best friend Aryna Sabalenka, who brought an unexpected guest to her yesterday’s match. Despite Badosa’s refusal, her Belarusian “soulmate” nagged her to interact with the guest, leaving the Spaniard in quite discomfort. As Badosa hilariously reacts to the situation, the tennis world encounters an interesting side of her personality.

The Spaniard played against China’s Wang Yafan in the Round of 16 yesterday. She defeated her opponent by 6-1, 6-2 in an impressive game. While playing yesterday, Badosa’s friend Aryna Sabalenka was in the Louis Armstrong Stadium to offer her moral support to her friend. Post-match, the Belarusian arrived on the court to greet her friend for her success. However, this moment, expected to be heartwarming turned surprising for Badosa initially.

Sabalenka arrived at the court with a puppy in her arms to meet Badosa. The Spaniard who was drinking water from her bottle, got flabbergasted. A Badosa fan page shared the clip on X mentioning how Sabalenka had no clue about Badosa’s fear of dogs despite being her friend. At first glimpse of the dog, Badosa took several steps away from Sabalenka. After that when the Belarusian convinced her to pat the puppy’s head, she reluctantly petted it but shouted in fear.

While Sabalenka was clueless, Badosa’s fear isn’t unknown to fans. In 2021, Badosa revealed her fear of dogs during the 21 Questions session with the WTA. After reaching the WTA finals that year, Badosa was asked to mention one thing people did not know about her. In her response, the WTA star said that she feared dogs.

While Paula Badosa followers hilariously called out Sabalenka for not knowing about her friend in detail, the Belarusian shared her thoughts about Badosa in Stuttgart this year. Badosa also mentioned something similar about her Belarusian friend in Tennis Channel’s March Podcast.

Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa are tennis besties in the true sense of the term

Sabalenka might not know about Badosa’s fear of dogs but the two still share an extremely close bond. In April, they participated in the Stuttgart Open and revealed how she feels about Badosa during a press conference.

“I love Paula [Badosa] very much, we have been friends for three or four years. She is an incredible person. It is very important to have friends on the circuit, so when you find someone who you feel is your soulmate,” Sabalenka said. On the other hand, Badosa also echoed the same love for Sabalenka. “We realized that we were very, we had very similar personalities and we get along very well,” Baoda shared in a podcast.

Sabalenka and Badosa’s friendship proved that a bond can bloom amidst deadly competition, and friends might not be aware of each other’s fears. Despite their competition, Badosa and Sabalenka showed that their love is beyond that. This quality of these WTA stars represents them as true athletes among their followers.