Stefanos Tsitsipas Reveals Reason Behind Skipping Golden Swing: “South America Has Never Offered Me Good Deal”

Stefanos Tsitsipas hasn't yet won a title since the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships.

Stefanos Tsitsipas Reveals Reason Behind Skipping Golden Swing: “South America Has Never Offered Me Good Deal”

Stefanos Tsitsipas (via X/The Tennis Letter)

In Short
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas skipped the Golden Swing in South America due to insufficient financial offers.
  • He prefers the Middle East and European tournaments for better appearance fees.
  • Tsitsipas remains open to playing in South America in the future for cultural experiences.

Stefanos Tsitsipas once again crashed out of a tournament without making a deep run. At the Dubai Tennis Championships, the Greek ace failed to defend his title as he suffered a straight-set defeat at the hands of Ugo Humbert in the first round.

Prior to the Dubai event, Tsitsipas participated in the Qatar Open, where defending champion Andrey Rublev eliminated him in the quarterfinals. Tsitsipas has chosen the Middle East Swing instead of the Golden Swing for financial reasons. During his interview with CLAY, the two-time Grand Slam finalist revealed why he never played in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, or Santiago.

I’ve never received good offers to go there; when the financial gap is big, you really have no option but to stick with what supports your career. I’ll be direct and honest: from a financial standpoint, it’s understandable that I choose other destinations instead of South America. All players choose tournaments based on guarantees as well. That’s how tennis works.

Tsitsipas understands how passionate the fans are in South America. He has so far won just one event in the Middle East Swing.

South America has never offered me a deal good enough to seriously consider it. The Middle East has always been much better in terms of appearance fees. The European swing has also provided strong financial incentives. That makes a difference.

Stefanos Tsitsipas added

Tsitsipas, however, did not rule out playing in the Golden Swing in the future. He loves documenting his travels and experiencing new cities and cultures, so it’s always been his dream to visit South America.

Stefanos Tsitsipas seemed to criticize Goran Ivanisevic

Stefanos Tsitsipas worked with Goran Ivanisevic in mid-2025. The partnership, which Tsitsipas called “brief but intense,” ended in less than a couple of months.

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

While still in Tsitsipas’ entourage, Ivanisevic publicly criticized the tennis ace, saying, “He wants to, but he doesn’t do anything. All, ‘I want, I want’, but I don’t see any progress.” After the split, without naming anyone, Tsitsipas said it’s difficult to work with “dictators”.

Following the split, Tsitsipas once again added his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas, to his team (the two split after the 2024 Canadian Open). While in Dubai, Tsitsipas, during his interview with The National, seemed to criticize Ivanisevic’s coaching abilities, revealing that there was a period “where there was anxiety“.

I regret certain decisions that I jumped into and took based on performance of their own in the past and stuff like that. What I’ve learnt through it is it doesn’t mean if you’re a good tennis player, if you played good tennis in your life, you can be a good coach. That’s what I’ve learnt from this whole process. And sometimes you got people that are right for you that weren’t necessarily the best players in the world, weren’t necessarily Grand Slam winners, weren’t necessarily legends of the sport.

Under the Croatian coach, Novak Djokovic won 12 of his 24 Grand Slam titles. The two split in March 2024, and toward the end of the season, Ivanisevic joined a WTA player’s team for the first time.

It was Elena Rybakina who hired her, but because she also wanted to work with Stefano Vukov, it ended her partnership with Ivanisevic. Ivanisevic is now working with Frenchman Arthur Fils, who recently played the final of the Qatar Open, losing the match to seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Tsitsipas will next be seen in action at the Indian Wells Masters, the season’s first Masters 1000 tournament. He has made the quarterfinals of Indian Wells just once, in 2021.

Also read: Stefanos Tsitsipas Restarts Feud With Former Coach Goran Ivanisevic: “I Regret Certain Decisions”