Number 11 seed Paula Badosa of Spain outlasted Ukrainian number 17 seed Marta Kostyuk in a crucial third round encounter at the Australian Open, with the Spaniard emerging the victor in a back-and-forth match as she won 6-4 4-6 6- 3 at the Kia Arena in Melbourne Park.
A tense and rocky contest, cameras picked up a funny moment as Badosa was seen in disagreement with her boyfriend, fellow tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas, as he watched on from the crowd.
Badosa was spotted gesticulating wildly in the direction of her player box after dropping a game to go down 5-0 in the second set, indicating her unhappiness with windy conditions on the court messing with her rhythm. Cameras then turned to Tsitsipas, who could be seen trying to settle her nerves and saying “Calm, calm.”
Badosa didn’t look too happy, however, as she responded by picking up her racket at the change of ends and offering it in the direction of her box, as if asking Tsitsipas if he wanted to play instead. Tsitsipas shared a small laugh at the gesture in response.
‘I really appreciate his support…’
However, after coming through to seal the win against the big-hitting Kostyuk, Badosa clarified during her on-court interview that the interaction was with her coach sitting in front of Tsitsipas, rather than with Tsitsipas himself.
“I was saying that to my coach honestly, but he was very supportive, giving me amazing tips,” explained Badosa. “Going for it, being aggressive, he was supporting me every point. I think he was more nervous than me, but I really appreciate his support.”
Badosa also responded to the video on social media using her account on X, writing “I wasn’t with Stef it was with my coach that was in front of Stef. Let’s not try to create drama. Stef was the best supporter out there.”
Badosa bounced back in great fashion from the 5-0 deficit. Although she lost the set, she did win 4 games to wrestle back momentum in her favour, using that to carry on and win the third set in emphatic fashion.
Badosa will play the winner of the match between Olga Danilovic and seventh seed Jessica Pegula of the USA in the round of 16. Tsitsipas will be along to provide support, but was disappointed by his first round exit to young American Alex Michelsen at the start of the week.
