NEW YORK — In the late afternoon sunshine Friday, spectators were forced to stand in the bleachers of a packed Court 11 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre. Outside, more queued to get in. Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, two superstars of American tennis, were busy slugging it out on Arthur Ashe Stadium, but a first-round, mixed-doubles match on the outside courts was the hottest ticket at the U.S. Open.
This is the pull of Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas, more familiarly known as “Tsitsidosa.” Badosa and Tsitsipas, both 26, are the most talked-about couple in tennis. Like any celebrity couple, there are TikToks. There are fan cams. There are hashtags. Unlike nearly any celebrity couple, there are Grand Slam tennis tournaments to play together.
In their first ever competitive match, they ended up losing, 7-6(3), 6-4 to Mexican pair Giuliana Olmos and Santiago Gonzalez.
Then, on Sunday, Badosa, who is the No. 26 seed in the women’s singles, beat Wang Yafan of China 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2021. She had never been past the second round in New York before.
Tsitsipas, the men’s No. 11 seed, sat and watched. He had lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis, the Australian, on day one.
A few weeks ago, the 2024…
