Spain’s Paula Badosa lost her cool towards her camp during her Round 3 match at the Australian Open. Badosa snapped at her camp. However, her boyfriend, Stefanos Tsitsipas, was trying to calm her down during the second set. The dramatic moment occurred on Friday, January 17, as Badosa faced a tough challenge from Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, but the Spaniard eventually prevailed 6-4 4-6 6-3.
The match was played under windy conditions, significantly affecting Badosa’s game despite winning the opening set 6-4. She struggled in the second set as the wind disrupted her rhythm, causing her to mis-hit several shots. Her frustration mounted as she tried to explain to her team that the weather conditions made it difficult for her to play her natural game. She lost control of a 4-0 lead in the second set, eventually losing it 4-6.
As Badosa expressed her frustration to her team, Tsitsipas–sitting in the stands–attempted to calm her down. However, this only aggravated the Spanish tennis star further. She reacted sharply, gesturing toward him and telling him that he should come down and play if he thought he could handle the conditions better. The hilarious exchange was caught on camera, and the commentators couldn’t help but laugh. The panel jokingly remarked that Tsitsipas had made a rookie mistake by intervening in such a tense moment.
Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas having a moment during her match at the Australian Open 😂😂😂pic.twitter.com/AG3fMszqc1
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 17, 2025
Despite the heated exchange, Badosa quickly regained her focus in the deciding set. After losing the second set 4-6, she bounced back strongly, winning the final set 6-3 to seal the victory. It took her 2 hours and 32 minutes to defeat the 17th-seeded Kostyuk. With this win, Badosa advanced to the fourth round, where she is set to face the winner of the Olga Danilovic on Sunday.
While Badosa celebrated her hard-fought victory, her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas faced a different fate in the tournament. The 11th-seeded Greek suffered a shock first-round exit on Monday. Tsitsipas, a finalist in the 2023 edition, was stunned by 20-year-old American Alex Michelsen, who won 5-7 6-3 2-6 4-6 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes on John Cain Arena in Melbourne.
The Australian Open has traditionally been a strong tournament for Tsitsipas, who has reached the semifinals three times before making the final in 2023. However, he attributed his early exit this year to a lack of match practice in the new season, marking it as one of the tournament’s biggest upsets so far.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
