"Poor Paula Badosa deserves better"- Fans appalled by Stefanos Tsitsipas throwing racket in US Open mixed doubles with concerned girlfriend looking on

Stefanos Tsitsipas lost his cool during his first-round mixed doubles match at the 2024 US Open, partnering with his girlfriend Paula Badosa. In a fit of rage, the Greek violently threw his racket on the court, drawing a concerned reaction from the Spaniard. Fans have taken to social media to express their disappointment with Tsitsipas' outburst.

Tsitsipas' men's singles journey at Flushing Meadows was cut short when he suffered a surprising first-round defeat against the unseeded Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday, August 28. Despite this setback, the 26-year-old still had the mixed doubles event to compete in, partnering with his girlfriend Paula Badosa, whose women's singles campaign is still going strong.

The Greek and the Spaniard, dubbed 'Tsitsidosa', took to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center's Court 11 for their opening mixed doubles encounter against the all-Mexican pair of Santiago Gonzalez and Giuliana Olmos on Friday, August 30. The couple suffered a 6-7(3), 6-4 loss, but the match produced a moment of controversy, which stemmed from Tsitsipas failing to contain his frustrations.

Trailing the Mexican duo 3-5 in the first-set tiebreak, Tsitsipas miscued on a one-handed backhand, sending the ball high into the air before it dropped out. Frustrated with the error, Tsitsipas wildly threw his racket to the ground, leaving his partner Badosa to watch helplessly.

Unsurprisingly, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their thoughts on the incident.

"Poor Badosa, she deserves better," one fan opined.

"WTF!!! Is wrong with Badosa being with that creep," commented another fan.

"Wow..run Paula," another fan wrote.

"@paulabadosa hope @steftsitsipas apologized for this behaviour in court.....need psychiatrist help....first with Dad and now with GF....," added another.

There were others who ridiculed Tsitsipas for taking his frustrations out on his racket in mixed doubles. Typically, tennis players throw or smash their rackets exclusively in singles.

"Racket throwing in mixed doubles is incredible," wrote a fan.

"Bro throwing his Raquet in doubles when he’s a singles player yea bro still can’t believe he lost to Kokk (Kokkinakis)," another fan commented.

"People can't get the fact that the racquet could have hit his girlfriend," one fan weighed in, criticizing those who were joking about the incident.

---

"Stefanos Tsitsipas and I are very emotional" - Paula Badosa

In Picture: Paula Badosa (L) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (R) (Image via Getty)

Before kickstarting her 2024 US Open mixed doubles campaign with boyfriend Tsitsipas, Badosa told reporters at a press conference how both she and the Greek go through a rollercoaster of emotions every time they watch each other play.

"I think we both suffer a lot. We're very emotional, and as we say, we love each other so much, and we want the best for us. Of course, we suffer; there are some moments I cannot even watch. It's tough to follow it because, also, we're used to being on the court, so we control a little bit of the situation, but from the outside, we can't do anything," Badosa said.

Having been eliminated from the mixed doubles competition at Flushing Meadows, Badosa would now shift her attention to her singles campaign. The 26-year-old is set to face Wang Yafan next in the women's singles fourth round, and if she comes out on top against the Chinese, she will face either Emma Navarro or defending champion Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.