Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has cruised through to Wimbledon’s second round after beating Japan’s Taro Daniel in the opening round.
The 25-year-old athlete is a force to be reckoned with and is currently ranked No. 11 having previously reached a career-high ranking of number three.
As Stefanos advances in London’s prestigious tennis tournament, join HELLO! as we take a closer look at his tennis pro girlfriend Paula and his famous family…
Stefanos is currently dating 26-year-old Spanish tennis pro Paula Badosa. The loved-up couple went public with their relationship shortly after the 2023 Italian Open in Rome. Since then, the pair have teamed up on the court, winning their first-ever mixed doubles match in World Tennis League action in December last year.
“This was the test,” joked Paula after winning the match. “Either we get divorced, or this goes better & better.” Chiming in, Stefanos said: “It’s a true pleasure to share the court with someone I’ve followed for a few years. My favourite female tennis player.”
Whilst the pair briefly separated in May, they later rekindled their romance weeks later ahead of the French Open where they took part in the mixed doubles.
“It was hard for us being apart and I was going through some hard times too,” Stefanos explained. “I would say that I didn’t manage it very well either, because I was feeling the pressure of the tour, of my work.”
Of their brief split, he went on to say: “After two, three weeks I realised that she is a person who has supported me a lot and when she tried to talk to me – I felt how intense the love we have for each other is. I realised that this relationship I have with Paula is completely different from any other relationship I have had in the past.”
Stefanos was born into a tennis family. His mother Julia is a former WTA professional and his father Apostolos trained as a tennis coach. The Greek tennis ace was introduced to the sport at a young age and started to play at the age of three, before taking lessons aged six.
He has three younger siblings: brothers Petros and Pavlos and a sister called Elisavet. Like Stefanos, the trio have similarly followed in their famous parents’ sporty footsteps.
“My mum, she knows a lot about tennis,” Tsitsipas told reporters in 2020. “Sometimes it can be a bit complicated when she wants to give her own opinion or advice direct to me, then have my dad tell me something else.”
He continued: “We’ve sat down and we said, ‘Guys, that’s my coach. Whatever opinions or whatever thoughts you have, has to be filtered through Apostolos, my father’. It can get quite hectic.”
