Stefanos Tsitsipas says he has nothing but love and respect for his father Apostolos but ending their professional partnership with him was necessary to “save” their relationship.
During a Montreal Masters match in August, the world No. 11 got extremely annoyed with his dad to the point where he confronted him and demanded to leave the court. Apostolos obliged and he wasn’t present for the remainder of his son’s straight-set defeat to Kei Nishikori.
Addressing the incident after the match, Tsitsipas had some strong words about his father, saying he “has not been very smart” in certain situations. The following day, they officially ended their collaboration.
“My father has probably been the core of my entire life, not only in tennis, but also in my day-to-day life. He has been a very important figure, but I had already felt on several occasions that need to move forward professionally without him. Obviously, he is one of the people largely responsible for my successes so far, but I also need to explore my own limits, have my own story and embark on a different journey in which to continue learning,” Tsitsipas told Hola.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Apostolos Tsitsipas© Apostolos Tsitsipas/Instagram – Fair Use
Tsitsipas admits it wasn’t easy for them to have ‘a normal relationship’
After working with Apostolos throughout his childhood, that continued when the Greek tennis star also turned pro. Since the former world No. 3 got off to a strong start to his career and made some notable results early on, there was no reason not to think that working with his dad was a bad decision.
But in the last couple of years, there were several instances during matches that indicated that not everything was perfect between the father/son duo. And it all culminated this past summer.
Now, Tsitsipas admits that it was simply too hard to navigate between being family and professional partners.
“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,” the two-time Grand Slam finalist confessed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Apostolos Tsitsipas© Apostolos Tsitsipas/Instagram – Fair Use
What was exactly said in Montreal and what Tsitsipas said after calming down?
After Stefanos left the court in the first set, it didn’t help the 26-year-old to turn things around as Nishikori went on to claim a 6-4 6-4 win in their second-round meeting. As mentioned above, the current world No. 11 then had some strong comments when asked to explain what happened out there.
“I’ve already been complaining to my coach about it for the last four-five days. That was also the reason why I had a confrontation with him during the match, I’m not used to it. For me, an ATP Masters 1000 match is an important match. I need and I deserve a coach that listens to me and hears my feedback as a player,” Tsitsipas said about the tense Montreal moment in his post-match presser.
“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.”
In the same presser, the 2023 Australian Open runner-up noted that there was a possibility he could decide to stop working with Stefanos. The very next day, he confirmed those news in a lengthy message posted on his social media. But this time, Tsitsipas spoke more respectfully about his father and noted that he should have acted a bit differently.
“I realized I was wrong to talk to my father the way I did. I have trusted my father with the coaching role for so many years and I consider our partnership a success. I’m not sure who will take over, and I’m not in a position to decide yet,” the former world No. 3 said.
After ending his collaboration with his father, Tsitsipas added Greek Davis Cup team captain Dimitris Chatzinikolaou to his team. Unfortunately for the Greek, he still hasn’t found a way out of his slump as his inconsistency continued and he has yet to make it past the quarterfinal stage since making a coaching stage.
For Tsitsipas, one of the things key during the offseason will probably be to mentally and physically recover from everything that happened in 2024 and see what he can do to return to being a contender in Grand Slams again.