Stefanos Tsitsipas understands that he can't continue working with his father as a coach, at least according to his mother, Julia Apostoli.
The Tsitsipas family is very close, and that can also be observed from the spectator's point of view. The family travels to almost all of the tournaments together, and until recently, the highest-ranked Tsitsipas, Stefanos, worked with his father, Apostolos, as a coach.
His mother, Julia Apostoli, was often seen in attendance, and the same applies to his brother, Petros. Stefanos also often plays doubles with Petros and named their doubles title from Antwerp as one of his favorite trophies.
To a spectator, it could look like a perfectly working family that supports each other, but the reality might be slightly different. The lives of professional athletes are not easy, as there are many challenges along the road, and with family on the team, this can also impact personal relationships.
Tsitsipas certainly experienced some of that, as he chose to split from his father as a coach in August of this year, and since then, a lot has been said about their relationship.
The Greek player himself talked about it in detail, but also other people, like Tsitsipas's former fitness coach. Now, the 26-year-old's mother, Julia Apostoli, has spoken about the relationship and how it impacted Stefanos' tennis.
According to Apostoli, who spoke on ANT1's "Breakfast", as per protothema.gr, even though Stefanos loves his father, he also understands that they can't work together anymore.
"Stefanos has done very well so far, but he doesn't have that big of feelings about tennis. There were things in his life that unsettled him, but made him happy. He is a professional and although he loves his father very much, he understands that he needs to find another coach."
Apostoli explained that since the 2020 US Open, when he lost in the third round to Borna Coric, the family told Apostolos that Stefanos should work with a different coach, especially since their relationship has been very rocky.
"Since 2020, when he lost at the US Open, we told Apostolos that Stefanos should change his coach. But four years passed and Stefanos was bringing good results. However, I think that Stefanos and Apostolos did not have a good relationship since then, they had constant conflicts."
According to his mother, that was also one of the reasons Tsitsipas decided to change his coach, hoping to finally turn the page. The family doesn't see it as a negative development; instead, as a natural development in an athlete's career.
"And that's why Stefanos made the decision to change his coach... We don't see it as a tragedy. We are a tight-knit family. Apostolos, as a coach, had gone deep into Stefanos' work and had not realized that he was putting pressure on him. He only had tennis on his mind."