Paula Badosa confirms Tsitsidosa to play 2024 US Open mixed doubles after exo victory 

NEW YORK—Tsitsidosa has officially entered the Grand Slam hunt, Paula Badosa confirming that she and boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas will make their mixed doubles main draw debut at the 2024 US Open after winning the tournament’s inaugural Mixed Madness event last week.

“I’m the responsible one on the mixed doubles team,” joked the former world No. 2 after surging through a 6-0, 6-3 singles victory over Viktorija Golubic. “I carry us!”

Badosa and Tsitsipas were scheduled to play mixed together at the 2023 Roland Garros and Wimbledon Championships last summer before the former was forced to withdraw from both to the back injury that ultimately shut down her season.

Now healthy and back in the hunt for big titles, “Tsitsidosa” proved their prowess as a tennis power couple when they won a whopping $250,000 defeating American teams Coco Gauff-Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz-Amanda Anisimova.

But Badosa’s biggest win of the night was returning Shelton’s serve, which is known to clock in close to 150 miles per hour.

“Every time I see him, I’m like, ‘I returned your serves!’” laughed Badosa. “It was so easy to return his serve, so I love it.”

How will Tsitsidosa translate to full-length matches? Badosa believes it’s a mix of their shared strength and off-court chemistry.

“I think it helps that I’m a strong player who can handle the man,” she explained. “That may be the most important part of the mixed, the fact that I can return the man’s serve.

“Of course, he’s an amazing tennis player, so that helps so much,” she added of Tsitsipas, who often plays doubles with brother Petros. “He has an amazing serve and an amazing volley. He makes my life very easy there, you know? I’m like, ‘Ok, you just ace it, and I’m just there!’

“Even though we’re both good players, we can come together and not play good doubles. That could happen, you know? But in our case, we know how to handle the moments, and even when the two of us might be struggling a bit, we help and support each other very well. I think we enjoy it and that’s really important.”

Might Tsitsidosa each win their first major title together? The mixed doubles event begins later this week.