Stefanos Tsitsipas’ father and coach believes ‘sky is the limit’ for Greek, as he lambasts Goran Ivanisevic
Apostolos Tsitsipas, coach and father of world No 28 Stefanos Tsitsipas, has called out Goran Ivanisevic’s criticisms of the Greek, whilst reiterating that the ‘sky is the limit’ for his son.
After his French Open second-round shock loss to Matteo Gigante, it was announced that Tsitsipas would hire 2001 Wimbledon champion Ivanisevic as coach – starting with the grass-court season.
However, the relationship would not be long-lasting, ending after just two tournaments.
The key turning point was a first-round Wimbledon retirement to Valentin Royer, due to an apparent back issue.
Just a few days later, Ivanisevic launched a series of scathing comments, stating: “[Tsitsipas] wasn’t mentally or physically prepared at Wimbledon. Back problems, a million problems. I am three times fitter.”
Shortly after the split was made official, it was announced that would be Apostolos re-joining the team after a prolonged absence.
“I didn’t like that he expressed his opinions publicly,” Tsitsipas’ father admitted, in a pre-US Open interview with Clay Tenis and RG Media.
“Probably Goran saw something he didn’t like. He should have identified it at the beginning of their professional relationship with Stefanos and discussed it personally with Stefanos and his team and tell him what he wants from him.
“Goran is a professional, I’m sure he has his own ideas, how to make things working, but definitely he should have done it personally with Stefanos.
“It’s interesting for the public to know about all these things, but the most important [thing] for the people is to see Stefanos playing good tennis.
“And the responsible about that are the members of his team. We are teachers. Coaches must create the right environment for the player to develop.”
Unfortunately for the Tsitsipas team, the two-time Grand Slam finalist’s fortunes have not improved since the reconciliation.
Tsitsipas has now lost seven of his last 10 matches, including, most recently, in the second round of the US Open.
There, it was Daniel Altmaier who prevailed 7-6(5), 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, capping off a miserable 2025 Grand Slam season for Tsitsipas – one in which he failed to reach the third round of any such tournament.
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Despite the lack of success, Apostolos Tsitsipas firmly believes that his son can, once again, reach the upper echelons of tennis.
“The sky is the limit,” he added.
“Every player have to dream big and have high goals, but also be careful not to live too much in the future.
“They need to stay present, execute, and keep their goals in mind while being fully involved in daily work.
On his physicality, he said: It’s good. I’m sure It can always be better, but you can’t measure these things exactly.
“It’s good (physically). I’m sure It can always be better, but you can’t measure these things exactly. Players have peaks, then they go a bit down. It’s not always flat.
“Right now, he is at his peak I believe. He can compete here, he should be ready because it’s a Grand Slam. We did everything we could.
“Of course, you can always add things, but tennis is not only physical, it’s also mental.”
