Stefanos Tsitsipas Confirms His Father As Head Coach One Year After Their Painful Split

Stefanos Tsitsipas to begin a new chapter with his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas, at the Canadian Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas Confirms His Father As Head Coach One Year After Their Painful Split

Apostolos Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas (via Tennis Archive/X)

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Stefanos Tsitsipas has officially confirmed that his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas, will rejoin his team as head coach just days after parting ways with Goran Ivanisevic. The Greek star is set to commence a new chapter with his father at the ATP 1000 tournament in Toronto, just nearly a year after the split.

In August 2024, Tsitsipas made headlines when he and his father clashed during a match against Kei Nishikori at the Canadian Open. Apostolos was frustrated at the Greek star’s lack of intensity in his game and that led him to lose in straight sets. A few days later, he announced that his father would no longer be his coach.

After that, the 26-year-old had a brief stint with Greek Davis Cup captain Dimitris Chatzikolaou as his coach. But things did get better for Tsitsipas on the court as he struggled with form and consistency. That led him to partner with Goran Ivanisevic ahead of the grass-court season, as he sought to turn things around.

But after two tournaments, Tsitsipas managed to win just one match. The 2001 Wimbledon champion was claimed to be the best solution to the former French Open finalist’s poor run on court, but that failed to yield results as well. Ivanisevic then slammed the Greek star for being mentally fragile and poorly prepared for the tournament.

Tsitsipas replied by firing the legendary coach, who had helped Novak Djokovic win 12 Grand Slams. He recently revealed that he was rehiring his father and on Wednesday (July 30), he made it official via his Instagram story, announcing that he was taking a bold step forward in his career:

Some journeys have a way of circling back to where they began. After some time apart, I’ve reunited with the person who first believed in me—my father. I’m grateful to share the court and the road ahead with him once again. We’ve been through ever chapter of this journey together, and this next one feels right. Sometimes, coming home is the boldest step forward.

Stefanos Tsitsipas Instagram story
Stefanos Tsitsipas statement (via Instagram)

Tsitsipas has not played a singles match since retiring from his first-round match at the Wimbledon Championships. He’s currently ranked World No.30 in the ATP rankings and is looking to move away from the top 10, which has always been his goal this season. He will hope to get back to winning on the court at the Canadian Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ 2025 season so far

Stefanos Tsitsipas holds a 19-13 win-loss record on tour, a disappointing one by his standards. The last time he won two consecutive matches was at the Barcelona Open in April. He has since then struggled to get past the third round of a tournament. At the French Open, he was stunned by Matteo Gigante in the second round in four sets.

Stefanos Tsitsipas 1
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Image via X/ESPN)

It is worth noting that Tsitsipas began the season very poorly and didn’t win a single match in January. He earned his first win at the Rotterdam Open and reached the quarter-finals there. However, it was at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he claimed his first and only ATP 500 title after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets.

After that, he struggled to win matches on the court. He was the favorite to win the Monte Carlo Masters having lifted the title in 2024, but he didn’t get past the quarter-finals. Almost the same story befell him at the Barcelona Open, where he was the 2024 runner-up, as he retired from his quarter-finals clash against Arthur Fils.

Tsitsipas will now hope for a new chapter at the Canadian Open, where he’s scheduled to face Australian star Christopher O’Connell in the second round. The result may not define his reunion with his father Apostolos Tsitsipas as they haven’t worked together for long. But the 26-year-old will hope the partnership gets back his competitive spirit on the court.

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