Paula Badosa rings in 25th birthday with Mr. Dripping portrait
Commissioned by boyfriend Juan Betancourt, the popular artist had Badosa sit for a one-of-a-kind work of art.
WATCH: Badosa's turn on the Confessional Cart
Art imitated life this week as former world No. 2 Paula Badosa sat for a signature Mr. Dripping portrait to celebrate her 25th birthday.
The famed artist, also known as Mark Rios, visited Badosa and boyfriend Juan Betancourt at home to complete the canvas in the drip style popularized by Max Ernst and Jackson Pollock.
“Such a pleasure creating this artwork,” Rios wrote on Instagram. “In it, you can find the passion for the tennis and the beautiful Paula Badosa.”
“What an incredible surprise,” Badosa rejoined under a video of the artist at work, thanking Betancourt for the birthday present.
For Badosa, it was an ideal way to cap an arduous season—her first among the world's Top 10. The Spaniard narrowly missed qualifying for a second straight WTA Finals despite a strong start to the year, winning a title in Sydney and reaching the BNP Paribas Open semifinals.
Making her Billie Jean King Cup debut last week, she scored a win over Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina before Spain was ultimately defeated by Great Britain in the round-robin stage.