The Greek world No. 12 recently told the ATP that he was on hand to give Badosa advice as she made it to her first Grand Slam semi-final and ended up becoming inspired by his girlfriend.
“With her run I thought, ‘If she can do it, why can’t I?’ That’s how I look at it,” he said, adding: “It was inspiring to me to see her execute because it teaches me how to do things when I am in that position.”
But Tsitsipas may want to cover his ears, as Badosa has now revealed that she has been looking to other ATP players as an example of how to feel on the tennis court.
The Spaniard recently appeared on the Tennis Insider Club podcast, hosted by fellow WTA player Caroline Garcia, where she admitted younger players like Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner motivated her.
“Sometimes I look at them as an inspiration because they deal with it [well], especially Carlitos,” the former world No. 2 said.
“It’s unbelievable. He’s smiling all the time. Like, you’re 5-5 and you’re smiling, how is this possible?
“I think Jannik and Carlitos are very similar. So I think it’s like the inspiration for us. Dealing with it that way, it’s the proper way to do it.”
Badosa also opened up on her difficulties with a career-threatening back injury. The 27-year-old shut down her 2023 season after Wimbledon and returned at the beginning of last year.
She struggled initially and dropped out of the top 100 in May. But Badosa’s comeback started to gain momentum over the summer when she won the title in Washington and reached the US Open quarter-final.
She has since returned to the top 10 and, despite being a former world No. 2, feels more experienced and at peace with her position near the top of the game.
“Now maybe I’m in a similar place when I was in the top 10 again, so let’s see how I deal with it now,” Badosa said.
“But I think now it’s going to be different because of experience, maturity. That doesn’t mean I’m going to win. I’m going to still lose plenty of matches, and matches that maybe I wasn’t expecting.
“What I mean is that I think I will take it emotionally in a different way because of my maturity, and I think also because of the people I have by my side, that’s going to help me so much.”
