Stefanos Tsitsipas Explains Difficult Relationship with Father As Coach After Reunion and Goran Ivanisevic Split

Stefanos Tsitsipas had parted ways with his father after his Canadian Open exit last year.

Stefanos Tsitsipas Explains Difficult Relationship with Father As Coach After Reunion and Goran Ivanisevic Split

Apostolos Tsitsipas, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Goran Ivanisevic (Image via The Sun, X/We Are Tennis, Marco Mazzoni)

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Stefanos Tsitsipas, after ending his partnership with Goran Ivanisevic, has added his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas, again to his coaching team. The tennis ace is in Toronto for the first Masters 1000 of the North American hard-court swing.

A few days before the split, Ivanisevic had publicly criticized the Greek ace, calling him an “unprepared player” and claiming that Tsitsipas wants to achieve a lot, but he doesn’t work. Following the split, Tsitsipas clapped back, saying he wants to work with the “right” people and not the “dictator”. Though he didn’t say anything directly against Novak Djokovic‘s former coach.

Under Ivanisevic, Tsitsipas played two tournaments, both on grass. At the Berlin Open, his run ended after he lost to Alex Michelsen in the fourth round. Then at Wimbledon, Tsitsipas failed to complete his first-round match due to back issues and handed the walkover to Valentin Royer. Ivanisevic during an interview after the split, talked about a possible reunion between Tsitsipas and his father.

It was at the Canadian Open last year that emotions got the better of the 26-year-old, and he yelled at his father during his opening-round match against Kei Nishikori. After his defeat, he publicly criticized Apostolos and ended their professional partnership. Tsitsipas, however, has apologized, and he is ready to be coached by Apostolos again.

I have to be strict with him; sometimes he wants to do many things his way with me. I am now trying to recalibrate this and make him understand that certain things have to be done the way I want them to happen, and I believe this relationship deserves much more than what we’ve done in the past two years. I want there to be more wisdom, more intelligence in how we communicate, and to be completely honest.

Stefanos Tsitsipas said during his pre-tournament press conference

This is the second time this season that Ivanisevic ended his partnership with a player. Back in January, due to the Stefano Vukov saga, the 53-year-old Croatian coach left Elena Rybakina‘s team after her Australian Open exit.

Ivanisevic had achieved a lot of success as a coach when he was in Djokovic’s entourage. The Serb has lifted 12 of his 24 Grand Slam titles under the guidance of the former World No.2. Djokovic split with Ivanisevic in March last year, just before the European clay swing.

Stefanos Tsitsipas posts a cryptic social media post

On Monday (July 28), Stefanos Tsitsipas took to X to post another cryptic message. But it’s not known who the person is that Tsitsipas took a dig at.

Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Image via X/Outside the Ball)

Just found out I’m the villain in someone’s story. Finally.

Check out his post here:

Apart from his relationship with his father, things are reportedly not alright between him and Paula Badosa. As per rumors, they broke up right after their Wimbledon exit. Both players have also unfollowed each other on Instagram.

Badosa hasn’t yet participated in a tournament since losing to Katie Boulter in the Wimbledon first round. The last time she won a title was at the Citi Open last year.

Stefanos Tsitsipas will chase his second title of the season at the Canadian Open

Tsitsipas has lifted just one title this season- the Dubai Open, by beating Felix Auger-Aliassime. It was his first title since he lifted his career’s third Monte Carlo Masters title last year.

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

Tsitsipas was the runner-up at the Canadian Masters in 2018, losing the match to 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. The last time he won multiple titles was in 2022. He had played seven finals, winning two titles- in Monte Carlo and the Mallorca Open.

Tsitsipas is on the verge of dropping out of the top 30 for the first time since 2018. He currently occupies the No.30 spot.

Also read: Lorenzo Musetti Discusses the Challenges of Having Too Much Variety in the Game