Stefanos Tsitsipas’ father Apostolos doesn’t agree that his son was bashing his parents with that “narcissistic parents” video as he insists the world No. 11 was actually trying to highlight how much he was cared for and loved as a kid.
Last week, the two-time Grand Slam finalist made an Instagram post, in which he reflected on his “evolution” in the past couple of months. The post included tennis content, a selfie with his girlfriend Paula Badosa, but many found the last slide as the most interesting – which featured a video explaining what a kid with narcissistic parents goes through.
“The child of a narcissistic parent learns early that love is conditional. They quickly understand they’ll only be loved for what they do, not who they are. The child abandons their true self, morphing into whatever version their highly critical and opinionated parent deems worthy. Deep within lies a profound sense of betrayal. They were loved, yes, but unconsciously used by the most significant person in their world. The anxiety, anger and pain remain,” it was narrated in the video.
Apostolos Tsitsipas responds: He didn’t make the actual video, it was meant to be taken in a positive way
Considering that the 11-time ATP champion got into a tense moment with his dad at the Montreal Masters and that they split shortly after, some instantly thought that the 26-year-old was shading Apostolos and probably his mother Julia.
Even before the father/son duo put a curtain on their partnership, there were reports indicating that their relationship wasn’t the best at times. After everything that happened in Toronto and they stopped appearing together in tournaments, the talks surrounding their relationship cooled off a bit.
But when Tsitsipas shared that clip, it again led to certain speculations about where they stand now. However, Apostolos claims everything as fine as it could be.
“The post is not his own; someone else made it. This post, from what I saw, is on YouTube. He borrowed it from YouTube and posted it, he made a repost, that’s what it’s called. Everyone makes reposts, what does that mean? Stefanos is simply saying that parents very much love, deeply love their children; they have a pathological love for their children, that’s what he means,” Apostolos said on MEGA’s show “You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet,” via The Greek City Times.
“Narcissism means a pathological love for my children. And I want my children to be better than me, that’s what it means. He isn’t talking about anyone in particular; he’s just saying that parents love their children very much. That’s the message, that’s what you should take away. That parents love their children very much, and rightfully so. And sometimes they love them pathologically.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Apostolos Tsitsipas© Apostolos Tsitsipas/Instagram – Fair Use
What happened in Montreal and how it led to Tsitsipas splitting with his father?
After losing to Novak Djokovic in the Paris Olympics quarterfinal, the Greek tennis star went to Montreal the following week to kick off his North American hard-court swing.
Early in his opening match against Kei Nishikori, the former world No. 3 got very annoyed with his Apostolos and he shouted at his dad – who then got up from his seat and left the court. The 26-year-old didn’t manage to mentally recover from that incident as Nishikori went on to upset the Greek in two sets.
Addressing the tense moment in his post-match presser, Tsitsipas called out his father by pretty much saying he “wasn’t that smart” in certain things.
“My father hasn’t been very smart or very good at handling those situations, it’s not the first time he has done that. I’m really disappointed at him. I really don’t know right now if I’d consider any changes, but I’m really disappointed. The most important thing for a player is to have direct and good feedback from a coach,” he said after the match.
In that same presser, Tsitsipas hinted that he may no longer be coached by his father. The very next day, he officially confirmed that. Also, he expressed regret for using some strong words when talking about his dad.
Just over a month ago, the 2021 French Open finalist suggested that making that move was “necessary” to preserve their relationship.
“It has been very difficult for the two of us to have a natural father-son relationship during all these years of championships. That was also one of the main reasons why I decided to part ways with him as a coach. Ultimately, it can also be understood as a way to save our relationship and build something healthy in the future,” Tsitsipas recently told Hola.
Tennis World USA