Stefanos Tsitsipas has explained his reasoning for teaming up with his girlfriend Paula Badosa in the mixed doubles at the French Open.
The Greek star rekindled his relationship with Badosa last month, despite the tennis couple announcing their split just weeks prior.
Tsitsipas, the men’s world No 9, was quizzed about the decision following his straight sets victory over China’s Zhang Zhizhen in the third round.
His entry into the event with Badosa comes amid a packed schedule, with Tsitsipas having also entered the men’s doubles with his brother Petros.
‘What is the reason you play all of the competitions here,’ Tsitsipas was asked in his on court interview.
Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the men’s singles fourth round at the French Open on Friday
Tsitsipas revealed his reason for entering the mixed doubles with girlfriend Paula Badosa, despite having a packed schedule
The 25-year-old responded that the reason was ‘love’.
‘Well, it’s all because of love,’ Tsitsipas said. ‘Yeah, it is if you think about it, on both sides.
‘It all has to do with love and getting to combine love and tennis is quite exceptional.’
The official Roland Garros account shared the video with the caption ‘Love + Tennis. A match made in Paris’.
Badosa, the Spanish star, replied to the post with heart eyes and a love heart emoji.
It will be the first time Tsitsipas and Badosa have teamed up at a major tournament, having previously only done so in exhibition formats.
The couple will begin their campaign with a match against Ena Shibahara and Nathaniel Lammons.
It promises to be a busy day for the duo with Badosa facing her best friend and second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s singles, while Tsitsipas is in action in the men’s doubles with his brother.
Tsitsipas shared the clip posted by the French Open with the caption ‘From Paris with Love’
Badosa responded with love heart eyes and a heart emoji to the post by her boyfriend
The couple, known as ‘Tsitsidosa’, announced their split in May before rekindling their romance
The couple had a joint Instagram account that boasted over 87,000 followers that was shut down after their break-up May 5
Badosa, who has struggled with a chronic back injury, had joked at a press conference earlier in the tournament that Tsitsipas would do most of the work on the court.
‘On the rest day I trained and I thought that with this I could improve my tennis. My team thought it was a good idea to play and, of course, in this case the mixed because of the relationship we have,’ Badosa said.
‘My partner is going to do a lot of work and help me in that aspect. I think it helps me improve and even more so from the competitive part. He will work for me so I don’t have to run much. It’s good to practice.’
Tsitsipas and Badosa were also seen walking hand in hand at the French Open earlier this week.
Tsitsipas had previously claimed it was a no brainer to play the mixed doubles with Badosa at the French Open.
‘Paris holds a special place for me and Paula, that’s where he had our first date right before Roland-Garros last year. ‘
‘Our anniversary occurs here, so for us it was a no-brainer to play our first mixed doubles in Roland-Garros.’
Tsitsipas confirmed that the couple, known as ‘Tsitsidosa’, rekindled their romance last month amid a swirling rumour mill about their reunion.
Tsitsipas had previously claimed the decision to enter the mixed doubles was a no-brainer
The two set pulses racing when they were spotted holding hands and driving an expensive car in Monaco.
That was the second time they were snapped enjoying each other’s company since Badosa released a statement announcing their split on May 5.
Tsitsipas, the 2021 men’s singles runner-up, has impressed so far at Roland Garros having only dropped one set in three matches on his way to the fourth round.
The Monte-Carlo Masters champion will continue his pursuit of a first Grand Slam singles title on Sunday when he faces Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi.
