Sabalenka cheers on Badosa from her player's box in Madrid
Paula Badosa had a friendly face in her player's box at the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday: best bud and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka was supportive through Badosa's first-round match against Austrian Julia Grabher, watching the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz action closely and cheering on her winners. She also offered encouragement to the former World No. 2 before the match, she told reporters.
"She knows that I'm always there for her," the top seed said on media day. "I always try to help as much as I can, give her advice, but sometimes I also give her some time. She knows that whenever she asks for something, I'm always there for her. And I really hope that she'll come back [to] the top, because I feel like this is where she belongs and I really wish her the best."
Sabalenka and Badosa practiced together before the tournament at La Caja Magica, and they've shared the court as doubles partners -- most recently in Brisbane, where they beat Liudmila Samsonova and Shuai Zhang before pulling out of their quarterfinal match.
But their relationship didn't necessarily get off on the best foot, Sabalenka said, and it took some time for their friendship to blossom.
"With Paula, it all started in a rather curious way," Sabalenka told Spanish magazine Yo Dona. "We decided to play doubles together almost by chance. At first, we didn't get along very well. In fact, when we started talking more, I confessed that I thought -- let's see how to put this politically correct -- that [she] wasn't very nice, and she told me she thought exactly the same about me.
"But, as we got to know each other, we realized that we were very similar, and that we weren't as unfriendly as we thought (laughs). That's how it all began."
Since then, they've developed into close confidantes, both personally and professionally.
Badosa, who came into Madrid ranked No. 103 in the PIF WTA Rankings, ended up losing her match to Grabher 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-0.
Sabalenka, a three-time champion in Madrid, received a bye into the second round. She'll play American Peyton Stearns in the Round of 64 on Thursday.