"Sunday lunch with my babe" - Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka catch up in Dubai

Tennis friends Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka spent their Sunday together over lunch in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Badosa and Sabalenka have developed a strong friendship over the years. The duo are frequently seen spending time off the court together. On the tennis court, they have faced each other four times and earned two victories each.

Badosa sat out most of the 2023 season due to a spine injury that she sustained at the Italian Open in May. On the other hand, Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. Later in September, she breezed past Iga Swiatek in the world rankings to reach the top spot for the first time in her career.

Sabalenka stayed in the pole position for eight weeks before Swiatek rose to the top again. The Belarusian is currently ranked World No. 2.

At present, both Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka are enjoying the off-season in Dubai ahead of the swing Down Under. They chatted over lunch at NAMMOS restaurant in the Gulf city on Sunday, December 10.

The World No. 2 posted a photograph from her time together with Badosa on social media and wrote:

"Sunday lunch with my babe."

Paula Badosa reposted the picture with five red-heart emojis.

Badosa shares Sabalenka's Instagram story.

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"Having Paula Badosa by my side is very important to me" - Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka recently shed some light on how she and Paula Badosa maintain their friendship despite their on-court battles.

"It doesn't happen very often that you can find your soulmate on the circuit because we compete against each other. But we had this deal: on the court we are opponents, we can shout whatever we want, but off the court we are friends again," the Belarusian said (via puntodebreak).

Sabalenka further expressed her happiness at having found an honest friend in Badosa. She said:

"I'm super happy to have her. She is a very nice girl and having her by my side is very important to me."

Paula Badosa was unbeaten in her first two matches against Sabalenka. She first defeated the latter at the 2021 Cincinnati Masters, and doubled her lead in the head-to-head with a win at the year-end championships a few months later.

Sabalenka, however, caught up with the Spaniard with back-to-back wins at the Stuttgart Open in 2022 and 2023. Her first success came in the semifinals in 2022, when she defeated Badosa 7-6(5), 6-4. In 2023, Sabalenka bested her in a three-setter in the quarterfinals.