Stefanos Tsitsipas Calls Ben Shelton’s Dad ‘Perfect Example’ After Split With Apostolos

Stefanos Tsitsipas started his campaign on the North American hardcourt swing at the Citi Open, only to suffer a three-set defeat at the hands of first seed Alex de Minaur in the opening round. Tsitsipas, ranked No.53, did not receive a wild card to play the main draw round of the Canadian Open.

He instead featured in the qualifying rounds and beat Keegan Rice before defeating fellow qualifier Martin Damm Jr. in the first round. Following his win, he gave an interview to Ubitennis, during which, among other things, he talked about his decision to part ways with his dad, Apostolos Tsitsipas, as his coach.

There aren’t many players coached by their fathers, to be honest, especially these days. If I had to count them, it would probably be three or four at most, not many.

Tsitsipas believes Ben Shelton’s dad, Bryan Shelton, is the perfect example of how a tennis dad should behave.

It’s a heavy relationship, and for some it works, which is great: for [Alexander] Zverev and Shelton it works. Sometimes, to be honest, I see Shelton’s father: he’s an example for me of how a father should behave around his son who plays tennis at a competitive level. He’s the perfect example. I see him, and sometimes I wish things were that way for me too, but unfortunately they’re not. But I’m a big fan of Shelton, a big fan of his father and the way their dynamic works. I consider him a great example.

Stefanos Tsitsipas added

Tsitsipas’ turbulent coaching partnership with Apostolos ended before Wimbledon, but this was not the first time they split. The 27-year-old was often heard hurling abuses at his dad, which was one of the reasons why he ended his professional relationship with Apostolos following the 2024 Canadian Open.

After their latest breakup, Tsitsipas hired Thomas Perrin of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, and the collaboration did not take much time to show results. The former World No.3 ended his trophy drought with a three-set win over Raphael Collignon in the Swiss Open Gstaad final, winning his first title since the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships.

Tsitsipas said the partnership with Perrin should have started a long time ago. Even though they barely knew each other before joining forces, Tsitsipas said Perrin is someone he trusts.

Stefanos Tsitsipas on the keys to his success in Gstaad

During that aforementioned interview with Ubitennis, Stefanos Tsitsipas made it clear that, despite his poor results at the start of the season, he still has the hunger to go for big results, and that he is not satisfied with one victory in Toronto. The Greek ace is also trying to become more disciplined in every aspect of his life.

Training well, eating well: these are important things. It’s not that I didn’t eat well before, but now I try to take care of every single aspect of my life in a very disciplined and detail-oriented way. I was very focused and very determined to do things the right way. I trained hard at the academy, hours at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy working, working, building, building, and I also tried to improve my sleep pattern, which was a bit of a problem before.

But Tsitsipas has a huge challenge in front of him in the form of Joao Fonseca. The 22nd seed suffered an opening-round exit on his debut at the Canadian Open last year.

If Tsitsipas beats the Brazilian ace, he will face fellow multiple-time Grand Slam runner-up Casper Ruud or Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the third round. Tsitsipas is a former runner-up in Canada, reaching the final in 2018 and losing to Rafael Nadal.

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