“My son was offered to perform under the Russian flag,” Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mother reveals the Greek’s Russian bias in recent interview

Stefanos Tsitsipas' mother shared the reason behind her son's switch to Greece, even though he was born in Russia.

“My son was offered to perform under the Russian flag,” Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mother reveals the Greek’s Russian bias in recent interview

Stefanos Tsitsipas (Via New York Post)

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mother, Yulia Salnikov, has revealed that her son almost represented Russia at a major junior event. Tsitsipas, who was born into a popular Russian family, is a Greek citizen and also represents Greece in international tournaments.

Tsitsipas’ mother was one of the strongest tennis players in the USSR in the 1980s. Her father, Sergei Salnikov, was a legend of Spartak Moscow and the Soviet football team. 

YouTube video

Tsitsipas grew up wearing a jersey with Spartak Moscow’s emblem. However, Russia at that time didn’t have a great tennis tradition, and that made Tsitsipas mother sign him up for the Greeks.

FS Video

During an interview with Sports-Expressu (a Greek media outlet), Tsitsipas’s mother explained why her son didn’t represent Russia in the Wimbledon Juniors.

They offered. But something confused us. It was at Wimbledon. There are special people in the tennis federation who deal with this. One of them came up to us and voiced the conditions. But I already knew that the best Russian juniors did not have such conditions, and it seemed wrong to me. Stepa was 17 years old at that time. At that time, he was playing with Bublik, who was a year older.
Salnikov said.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ became the first Greek player to reach the Top-5 in the ATP rankings. The Greek star has won ten ATP titles, including two Masters 1000 championships. His highest reach at a Grand Slam stage was at the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open. He lost both finals to Novak Djokovic.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mother reveals why she doesn’t attend all her son’s tournaments

Yulia Salnikov says she doesn’t attend every tournament Stefanos Tsitsipas plays in. However, she admitted that she always attends her son’s training and recovery camp.

Stefanos Tsitsipas (R) and his mother (L)

Last year, she was with him at the Rome Open, where he reached the semi-finals before losing to Daniil Medvedev.

Not for everyone. Last year I was not at the Australian Open. However, at that time I was in Dubai - the closest major point from where you can fly directly to Melbourne. Sometimes I go to tournaments with my third son, 18-year-old Pavlik.
Continuing further, she added

Perhaps Tsitsipas’ run of bad form, which has seen him drop out of the Top 10 for the first time in four years, would push his mother to join him in Indian Wells. 

The second one, Petya, still won’t allow me to go anywhere. All by myself! Your own Che Guevara! I always attend training camps. There, in addition to training and recovery, there are many other household chores.
she concluded

The Greek star would be hoping to clinch his third Masters at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open.

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