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Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka recently showed off their salsa moves on the court before their doubles match against Mirra Andreeva and Sofia Kenin on Thursday, December 21, in the 2023 World Tennis League.
The duo, who are part of Team Kites, went on to win the match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, and extend their lead in the standings.
The World Tennis League is a mix-gender team event that features some of the sport’s biggest names such as Iga Swiatek, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and others. The format consists of four teams, each with four players (two men and two women), competing in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles matches.
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Badosa and Sabalenka are part of Team Kites, including Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov. The team is currently leading the standings with 27 points, followed by Team Falcons with 27 points and Team Hawks with 24 points. Badosa and Sabalenka have been the star performers for their team, winning all their singles, doubles, and mixed-doubles matches so far.
But what makes their partnership even more remarkable is their chemistry and camaraderie, which was evident in their pre-match salsa routine. The pair decided to spice up their warm-up with some Latin dance moves, much to the crowd's delight.
Watch the video below:
Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka will face Team Falcons, which consists of Taylor Fritz, Sumit Nagal, Elena Rybakina, and Sorana Cristea, in their next match on Friday, December 22.
A look into Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka's head-to-head record and doubles partnerships
Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka have crossed paths four times on the WTA tour, with each player securing two victories.
Their initial meeting took place in the second round of the 2021 Cincinnati Open, where Badosa emerged triumphant in a three-set battle, with a scoreline of 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4). They faced off again at the 2021 WTA Finals, where Badosa claimed victory in straight sets, securing a 6-4, 6-0 win in the first round-robin match.
Sabalenka avenged her previous losses at the 2022 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, defeating Badosa in the semifinal with a scoreline of 7-6(5), 6-4. Their most recent encounter was in the quarterfinal of the 2023 Stuttgart Open, where Sabalenka secured a victory with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka first teamed up as a doubles pair at the 2022 Miami Open, where they reached the second round before losing to Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhaoxuan Yang in straight sets.
They reunited at the 2022 Stuttgart Open, where they won their first-round match against the Ons Jabeur and Ellen Perez in straight sets. However, they withdrew from their quarterfinal match against Coco Gauff and Shuai Zhang.
They played their third and latest tournament together at the 2022 Madrid Open, where they lost to the American pair of Gauff and Jessica Pegula in straight sets.
