German standout Eva Lys defeated former world No. 2 Paula Badosa 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours and 15 minutes at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. But the highlight was what happened right after the match point. Instead of celebrating her massive hometown comeback, Lys met Badosa at the net and simply said, “I’m so sorry Paula.”
Why Eva Lys Apologized at the Net After Erasing Paula Badosa’s 4-1 Lead
If you turned this match off after the first hour, you would have assumed Badosa won, as she took the first set 6-2 and was racing out to a 4-1 lead in the second. But the 24-year-old Lys completely flipped the script. The German won six of the next seven games to steal the second set 7-5. The third set remained tight until the very end. Leading 5-4, Lys pressured Badosa’s serve and, in the end, secured the 6-4 victory.
After the match, Lys, a friend of Badosa, expressed her mixed emotions in her on-court interview. “I’m gonna be honest.. She’s such an amazing player on and off the court. Also an amazing friend,” Lys said. “It wasn’t easy for both of us to play. I definitely wanna give her my whole respect. It was really tough. She started so well in the first one. I don’t know if you guys see how fast Paula is hitting. When Paula has the ball in her frame it’s sometimes impossible to hit it back. I was just trying to keep up. In the 2nd and 3rd set I felt like I had good timing. But yeah, I was so glad to be sharing the court with her. It was an amazing match.”
Badosa has been battling a string of injuries this season. On top of managing a chronic L-4 vertebra stress fracture, she had a right thigh injury that forced a painful mid-match retirement against Elina Svitolina at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February 2026. A deep run in Germany would have boosted her confidence ahead of the French Open.
But Lys needed this victory just as badly. She hadn’t won a match since suffering a knee injury at the United Cup in Australia back in January.
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Stuttgart has a loaded draw, with former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek officially launching her beloved clay-court campaign after training under Rafael Nadal. Then there’s the defending champion Jelena Ostapenko, heavy hitters like Elena Rybakina, and the current French Open champion Coco Gauff.
For Lys, next up is a round-of-16 clash against world No. 7 Svitolina. For Badosa, it’s back to the drawing board to physically and mentally reset for the remainder of the clay season.
