Days after "all because of love" remark, Stefanos Tsitsipas chooses brother over girlfriend Paula Badosa with mixed doubles withdrawal at French Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas and his girlfriend, Paula Badosa, have withdrawn from their 2024 French Open mixed doubles campaign, just days after announcing they would play together for "love." However, the Greek still chose to play doubles with his older brother, Petros.

After dating for less than a year, Tsitsipas and Badosa decided to part ways at the beginning of May 2024. They reconciled later that same month, with the former expressing that being apart was "hard."

The couple decided to celebrate their reunion by signing up to play mixed doubles at Roland-Garros. When questioned by a reporter during a press conference about their decision, Tsitsipas said:

"Well, it's all because of love. 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."

Badosa echoed her boyfriend's sentiment regarding the matter when speaking to the media:

"I agree with him. I do it for this reason and because it is something very special and not everyone is lucky enough to be able to share such moments. And we have it."

"We also have a very beautiful relationship and we want, if time permits of course, to share such moments, it's something unique - why not? And after all, we are tennis players, but we are also people with feelings. So I think that's a cool thing," the former World No. 2 added.

Amid much anticipation, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa have withdrawn from mixed doubles just moments before their scheduled match against Ena Shibahara and Nathaniel Lammons on June 3.

Interestingly, Tsitsipas and his brother Petros are currently competing in doubles against Austin Krajicek and Ivan Dodig in the second round. The score stands at 4-6, 7-5 at the time of writing.

This isn't the first time the lovebirds' mixed doubles campaign has been interrupted. They pulled out of their Wimbledon 2023 match against Jessica Pegula and Krajicek owing to the Spaniard sustaining an injury in her second-round singles match against Marta Kostyuk.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas to face Carlos Alcaraz in French Open QF, Paula Badosa crashes out in 3R

Paula Badosa (L) and Stefanos Tsitsipas

While Stefanos Tsitsipas is still going strong in his singles campaign at the 2024 French Open, his girlfriend Paula Badosa was eliminated from the tournament in the third round.

Tsitsipas commenced his journey at the Claycourt Slam with a solid 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-1 victory over Marton Fucsovics. He followed this up with another impressive 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4 triumph against Daniel Altmaier.

The 2021 tournament finalist then cruised into the fourth round after defeating Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. Despite facing some challenges against Matteo Arnaldi, Tsitsipas managed to bounce back and secure a hard-fought 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2 victory, setting up an exciting quarterfinal clash with Carlos Alcaraz on June 4.

Meanwhile, after an extended absence from tennis due to a stress fracture in her back, Badosa made her tennis comeback at the start of 2024. She encountered some initial struggles readjusting to her game, but eventually found her footing during the clay season.

The Spaniard made an impressive start in her quest for her maiden Grand Slam by upsetting the No. 26 seed Katie Boulter 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. She continued her strong performance, defeating Yulia Putintseva 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. However, her journey came to an end in the third round, as she was defeated 5-7, 1-6 by her close friend Aryna Sabalenka on June 1.