Tennis star’s mum blames his beautiful former WAG for poor type – ‘It was a burden’

Tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has struggled for form and his mother has spoken about the impact of his past relationship

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mother has blamed her son’s former relationship with Paula Badosa for his drop in form.

Tsitsipas, 27, was ranked world No. 3 in 2021 and has reached the final of the French Open and the Australian Open in his career. The Greek ace has won 12 singles titles and triumphed at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2024.

However, a poor run of results has subsequently seen Tsitsipas fall to 75th in the world rankings. In an interview about her son, Tsitsipas’ mother, Yulia Salnikova, weighed in on how his previous high-profile relationship with Badosa took a toll on him.

“They were a good couple, but it was a burden for him. He was pushing himself too hard,” Salnikova told Punto de Break.

“The constant photos, social media, and all the media attention gradually affected him,” his mother added. “Although he said he liked it, inside it was building up.”

Tsitsipas and Badosa began their relationship in May 2023 and found their romance in the spotlight, leading the pair to create a ‘Tsitsidosa’ social media account to provide updates on their lives together. The couple announced their split in May 2024 but later reconciled before breaking up again in July 2025.

Tsitsipas’ best singles run of the year so far was reaching the Qatar Open quarter-finals in February. The two-time Grand Slam finalist publicly announced his relationship with Kristen Thoms in January and his mother seems to approve of his new partner.

“I feel like I’ve known her for 90 years,” Salnikova said. “She’s a very sweet girl, she understands tennis, she played for university, and she’s also built her own career in marketing and representation.”

Meanwhile, former world No.2 Badosa has also seen her on-court fortunes suffer following a series of injury problems. The Spanish star has fallen out of the top 100 but did reach the semi-finals of an ATP Challenger event in Austin two months ago.

Outside of tennis, the 28-year-old has launched her own swimwear line, Sunaswim. There has been speculation that Badosa could retire from the sport after her fitness issues and publicly sharing her battles with self-doubt on social media.

While both Tsitsipas and Badosa face battles to return to their best, it seems both agree that their separation was the right decision. The Greek star made his feelings clear about his relationship when recently asked if he preferred to date a tennis player.

“Non-tennis girlfriend. Trust me. Even if you don’t want to admit there’s competitiveness, there’s always competitiveness,” he replied. Badosa demonstrated their amicable relationship by responding with four laughing emojis.

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