Mother Julia Apostoli shares ‘horrific’ details about Stefanos Tsitsipas’ childhood

Stefanos Tsitsipas' mother Julia Apostoli shared unpleasant details about his childhood and explained how he could solace in tennis.

Mother Julia Apostoli shares ‘horrific’ details about Stefanos Tsitsipas’ childhood

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Julia Apostoli (via Tennis365/Daily Mail)

Stefanos Tsitsipas‘ mother, Julia Apostoli, has revealed that her son, while growing up in Athens, skipped classes to play tennis. The Greek player won his maiden ATP title at the Stockholm Open in October 2018. However, it was at the Barcelona Open in April that he announced himself to the tennis world.

Tsitsipas caused a major upset beating Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov to reach the final. He failed to capture the title, losing to Rafael Nadal. In his maiden Masters 1000 singles final at the Canadian Open later that year, he again lost to the Spaniard.

The following year, Tsitsipas won two more titles and won his first major title at the year-end ATP Finals in London. However, he is yet to win a Grand Slam, despite reaching the final at the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open.

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During a recent interview, his mother Julia revealed that playing tennis helped Tsitsipas focus and forget the bad treatment he received from his classmates in school.

He was a very quiet and shy child. Because of sports, he would skip classes and the kids he had in class couldn’t be considered friends because they treated him very badly. There were two or three kids who would hit Stefanos. It wasn’t easy for him at the time, but he got over it because he played tennis and his mind allowed him to move forward. That helped him a lot.
Julia Apostoli said (via Sport24.gr)
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Tsitsipas is currently dating WTA star Paula Badosa. The tennis power couple split in May after one year together before reconciling three weeks later.

Stefanos Tsitsipas hopes for a fresh start at the Laver Cup

Stefanos Tsitsipas has failed to rise to fans’ expectations this year. He played his best tennis of the season at the Monte Carlo Masters, beating Jannik Sinner in the semifinals and Casper Ruud in the final to lift the title. Since losing the Barcelona Open final to Ruud, the Greek star has failed to impress on the ATP tour.

Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Image via X)

However, after missing the Davis Cup due to injury, Tsitsipas is looking forward to competing at the Laver Cup with Team Europe. The 26-year-old believes he has what it takes to get back to being the kind of player he was.

This event brought me closer to my heroes, their personalities and how they feel in real life. I was able to admire them in a different way, on a different scale than before. And I got to meet them, talk with them in a way that I don’t usually do when I’m on tour. It brought me so many emotions and wonderful memories.
Stefanos Tsitsipas said (via Tennis365)
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Tsitsipas will hope to forget his disappointing campaign at the US Open, where he lost 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round. He will be joined in Team Europe by Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov, Flavio Cobolli, and Jan-Lennard Struff at the Laver Cup.