Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas withdraw from French Open mixed doubles

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa withdrew from the French Open mixed doubles competition on Monday when they were slated to play a first round match.

The recently reconciled couple made big news by announcing they were playing mixed doubles in Paris. The pair planned to last year at Wimbledon, but Badosa's back injury prevented them from doing so.

This time it is Tsitsipas who is the stopper and for good reason because his schedule is packed. He planned to play singles, men's doubles with brother Petros, and mixed doubles with Badosa. The Tsitsipas brothers have a second-round match on Monday, and there is a sense of urgency for them to play well in Paris so they can qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Could Stefanos Tsitsipas win his first Grand Slam in Paris?

Aside from his Olympic doubles aspirations with his brother and mixed doubles partner Maria Sakkari, Tsitsipas has the immediate goal of winning his first Grand Slam.

He will play Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Tsitsipas has never beaten Alcaraz in five prior meetings. Their last meeting was in the quarterfinals last year at Roland Garros, and Alcaraz won in straight sets.

Skipping mixed doubles with Badosa gives Tsitsipas more time to prepare for this match. In addition to never beating Alcaraz, he has only ever won one set against him, which was in their first meeting at the 2021 US Open Round of 32.

Tsitsipas's name is often mentioned as one of the best players on the ATP Tour to never win a Grand Slam. He was a finalist in the 2021 French Open.

As for Tsitsidosa's mixed doubles aspirations, it would be fun to watch them play together. We had a hint of what it would look like at this year's Eisenhower Cup exhibition. Hopefully, we will see it happen one of these days.

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