Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas were set to team up for the Eisenhower Cup again (Image: Getty)
has been forced to find a new partner for the Eisenhower Cup, a Tie Break Tens event in Indian Wells, after his girlfriend, , bailed on him. The world No. 10 withdrew from the light-hearted tournament after picking up an injury at her latest tournament.
The Spaniard was forced to retire in the middle of her match in Merida last week and is in a race against time to recover for the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells. In the meantime, she is skipping the Eisenhower Cup.
The fun exhibition event in Indian Wells pits eight pairs of players against each other in a series of first-to-10-point tiebreaks. Tsitsipas and his girlfriend Badosa were set to team up for the second year running.
However, organisers have now announced that Badosa has pulled out at the 11th hour, with the tournament set to take place on Tuesday night. It leaves Tsitsipas without a teammate.
The ATP No. 9 has yet to find a replacement for his girlfriend, with Tie Break Tens confirming that his “new partner will be announced once confirmed.”
It comes three days after Badosa retired in the middle of her quarter-final match at the WTA 500 in Merida. The second seed led Daria Saville 6-1 3-4 when she called the trainer for a back issue.
Paula Badosa retired in Merida citing back pain (Image: WTA)
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Badosa continued playing, but after losing the next game, she forfeited the match. The 27-year-old has struggled with a back injury for the last two years. She shut down her 2023 season after suffering a stress fracture.
The world No. 10 came back in 2024 but struggled to recover quickly dropped out of the world’s top 100. Less than a year ago, doctors told her that regular cortisone shots may be her only hope to continue playing pain-free.
Badosa finally recovered and enjoyed a resurgent second half of the season, winning the Washington Open and having deep runs at the US Open and some WTA 1000 events. So it’s no surprise the Spaniard doesn’t want to risk injuring her back further.
The former Indian Wells champion currently remains in the draw for the upcoming tournament. As the 11th seed, Badosa has a bye into the second round of the singles draw and will face either Kamilla Rakhimova or Caroline Dolehide.
But Tsitsipas will need to seek a new partner for Tuesday night’s exhibition. The Greek star and Badosa weren’t the only power couple set to compete in the Eisenhower Cup.
British No. 1 and her fiance are also taking part. Reigning champions Ben Shelton and Emma Navarro will return to defend their crown.
Other teams include and , Madison Keys and Tommy Paul, and Maria Sakkari and Casper Ruud.
Polish stars and Hubert Hurkacz will also compete, while Italian pairing Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti round out the draw.