Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa were pictured giving each other a tap on the butt and the Belarusian tennis star hilariously clarified the situation by acknowledging they both have a boyfriend.
Badosa, the 2021 Indian Wells champion, and 2023 Australian Open champion Sabalenka are great friends off the court.
In Indian Wells, Badosa and Sabalenka seemingly decided to have a bit of friendly fun on the practice court.
Reacting to the photo, Sabalenka tweeted: “Love is in the air.”
Love is in the air❤️ https://t.co/ekQ6T7W9bM
— Sabalenka Aryna (@SabalenkaA) March 7, 2023
In her follow-up tweet, Sabalenka added: “Just to clarify…we have boyfriends (face with tears of joy emoji).”
Just to clarify…we have boyfriends😂 https://t.co/hTzvGw2NTq
— Sabalenka Aryna (@SabalenkaA) March 7, 2023
Meanwhile, this is how Badosa reacted.
🥰 @SabalenkaA 👭 https://t.co/b953rgEIc6
— Paula Badosa (@paulabadosa) March 7, 2023
Badosa happy for Sabalenka’s Australian Open success
Sabalenka, 24, made her big Grand Slam breakthrough at the start of this season at Melbourne Park.
In the Australian Open final, Sabalenka recovered from a set down to beat Elena Rybakina.
Last year, Sabalenka had a really tough and difficult period as her serve wasn’t working that well and it was negatively impacting her results.
But Sabalenka refused to just quit as she did her best to turn things around and make it better.
After Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam, Badosa said her good friend definitely deserved such a success.
“As she always says, we’re soulmates. I think we’re very similar personalities and I admire her a lot. She’s a fighter and she’s been through a lot — tough moments — and she’s always fighting, no matter what. We all remember how she started last year in Australia with the serve and she tried and she tried and she never gave up, and she had an amazing reward. I know for her it was very important and it’s a dream come true. And I was very happy because we’re very close and we’re living, like, the same journey together. I think that she totally deserves it,” Badosa told Arab News.
Badosa, 25, is also hoping to become a Grand Slam champion in the near future.