Stefanos Tsitsipas’ New Coach Expects Him to Be ‘Fighter’ and Stop Looking for Excuses

Stefanos Tsitsipas‘ new coach, Thomas Perrin, is convinced the Greek ace still has it in him to become what he was before: a formidable player that used to compete for Grand Slam titles. The partnership between Perrin and Tsitsipas did not take much time to show results.

The Greek ace hired Perrin after ending his professional relationship with his dad, Apostolos Tsitsipas, before starting his campaign at Wimbledon, where Novak Djokovic cruised past him in the second round. Tsitsipas then entered Switzerland for the ATP 250 Swiss Open Gstaad and ended his title drought with a three-set win over Raphael Collignon, winning his first title since the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championship.

Perrin, during his interview with Eurosport France, said his protege, the World No.53, really wants to get back to the top level.

After Roland-Garros, Stefanos took time for himself to think about how he sees his future. What came out of it is that he really wants to move on to something different, with a new team and a new project. The fact of separating professionally from his father is a decision he thought through carefully. He no longer has any questions about it. He wanted to take his career back into his own hands, and that’s done. Mentally, he is very motivated.

Tsitsipas’s Roland Garros campaign also ended in the second round with a four-set defeat at the hands of Matteo Arnaldi. At the Australian Open, it was Tomas Machac who ended his run in the second round.

Only winning a title definitely can’t sum up the new partnership. One of Perrin’s goals is to see Tsitsipas develop a never-give-up attitude no matter the situation.

What I really expect from him is to see a fighter on the court in all circumstances. In Gstaad, we had a good discussion after his match against Arthur Rinderknech, where he tended to complain a lot. Then he recovered well. If he continues in this direction, the rest will follow. There will be difficulties, for sure. But now is not the time to look for excuses. It’s the time to find solutions. 

Thomas Perrin added

Perrin, a member of Patrick Mouratoglou‘s academy for six years, censured those who have been criticizing Tsitsipas’ tennis. Also, the plan is to optimize his single-handed backhand, with Perrin making it clear that Tsitsipas is not going to switch to a double-handed backhand.

Stefanos Tsitsipas sums up life on the ATP Tour

Stefanos Tsitsipas‘ tweets, that are completely unrelated to tennis, never fail to amuse. Known as the philosopher on the tour, Tsitsipas frequently shares random stuff and, obviously, gets trolled by the fans. But sometimes, fans can’t help but smile after reading these quirky tweets.

In one of the tweets, he wrote, “Eating a salad while staring at fries should be classified as mental torture,” and “Growth looks like deleting a long message and replacing it with “ok.”

The 27-year-old is in Montreal for the Canadian Open, where he qualified for the main draw after defeating Keegan Rice in the first round. Following the win, the ever-contemplating Tsitsipas took to his X and tried to define the life of a tennis player.

Sometimes I feel like 90% of tour life is airports, 9% hotels, and 1% actual tennis.

Check out his post here:

Sometimes I feel like 90% of tour life is airports, 9% hotels, and 1% actual tennis.

— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@stefanos) August 3, 2026

Tsitsipas will face Martin Damm Jr. in the first round. It was at the Canadian Open back in 2018 that Tsitsipas played his career’s first Masters 1000 final, losing the match to Rafael Nadal.

Tsitsipas has so far clinched three Masters 1000 titles, all in Monte Carlo (2021, 2022, and 2024). Last year at the Canadian Open, he lost in the second round.

Also read: Rennae Stubbs Explains Why Victoria Mboko Can Lift Grand Slam Trophy but Alexandra Eala ‘Will Never Win’ One