Stefanos Tsitsipas Accuses Chair Umpire of Not Knowing Rule After Being Given Coaching Warning

Former World No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas is on the cusp of dropping out of the top 50 amid his slump in form.

Stefanos Tsitsipas Accuses Chair Umpire of Not Knowing Rule After Being Given Coaching Warning

Stefanos Tsitsipas received coaching violation (Image via X/AllAboutHQ, asud)

In Short
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas was eliminated in the first round at Indian Wells, marking his third early exit this year.
  • He argued with chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani over a coaching violation during the match, claiming the new coaching rule allows for advice.
  • Tsitsipas expressed a desire for tennis longevity, citing Novak Djokovic as a role model for maintaining peak performance into older age.

Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out in the first round of a tournament for the third time this year. In his first-round match at Indian Wells, he suffered a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Denis Shapovalov.

The match saw an argument between the Greek ace and chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani after the former received instructions from his father and coach, Apostolos Tsitsipas. As per the new coaching rule that was introduced in 2025, ATP players are allowed to receive coaching advice on points, changeovers, and set breaks, and it must be discreet and short. They are not allowed to coach during points.

During the second game of the third set, Tsitsipas started to argue with Lahyani, saying that receiving advice during matches has become legal. Commentators could be heard saying that in this case, Lahyani applied the law correctly because on-court coaching needs to be brief and discreet, but the father and son were having a lengthy conversation.

I’ll report you after… Probably don’t know your job.

Stefanos Tsitsipas told Mohamed Lahyani

Watch the video here:

Tsitsipas has never progressed beyond the quarterfinals in the first Masters 1000 of the season, reaching the stage just once, in 2021. Last year, his campaign ended in the fourth round. The former World No.3 is on the verge of dropping out of the top 50 as he currently stands in the 43rd spot.

Prior to Indian Wells, the 27-year-old failed to defend his title at the Dubai Tennis Championships, losing to Ugo Humbert in the opening round. The only time he made a deep run in an event this year was at the Qatar Open, where defending champion Andrey Rublev knocked him out in the quarterfinals. The two-time Grand Slam finalist has yet to win a title since last year’s Dubai ATP 500 event.

Stefanos Tsitsipas wants to follow in Novak Djokovic’s footsteps

Prior to his elimination at Indian Wells, Stefanos Tsitsipas sat for an interview with Tennis Bolshoi, during which he was asked what he would like to change about himself. Tsitsipas responded with “tennis longevity” and expressed his wish to follow in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic, who made the Australian Open final at 38.

Novak Djokovic (3)
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/AllAboutHQ)

Yes, I think Novak is a great example because I think Novak, he’s almost like 40 now, he’s still playing incredible tennis, and I admire that. He’s done everything up to perfection, and he’s one of the few professionals in our sport that has taken tennis to such extents when it comes to health and wellbeing, to being health conscious, applying things that other tennis players never heard or never even thought about doing before, so he’s one step ahead of everyone in terms of how he eats, how he sleeps, how he recovers, and he is the example.

Djokovic, however, failed to end his Grand Slam title drought, losing in four sets to Carlos Alcaraz. The Serb is also playing at Indian Wells, where last year, his run ended with a defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening round. Djokovic will be kick-starting his campaign in the ongoing event against Kamil Majchrzak, who knocked out Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

It will be his first match since his defeat to Alcaraz at Melbourne Park. Djokovic holds the record for the most Indian Wells titles, along with Roger Federer (winning five each). The last time he won here was in 2016 against Milos Raonic.

The last time he won a Masters 1000 title was at the 2023 Paris Masters by beating Grigor Dimitrov, and since then, he has made two finals at this level, losing to Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Shanghai Masters and to Jakub Mensik at the 2025 Miami Open.

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