'Difficult To Have Dictators': Tsitsipas Appears To Take Dig At Former Coach Ivanisevic

Thursday, 24 July 2025 at 18:55

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byJordan Reynolds

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Goran Ivanisevic's player-coach partnership came to a premature end, and the Greek's recent remarks may have given a better insight into why that happened.

Tsitsipas started working with Ivanisevic after the 2025 French Open. The 2001 Wimbledon Champion was very successful as Novak Djokovic's coach from 2019 until their split in March 2024.

Ivanisevic then had a spell with Elena Rybakina, starting in the 2024 off-season. However, that swiftly ended after the 2025 Australian Open because of complications surrounding the Kazakhstani's desire to work with her former coach, Stefano Vukov, again.

The Croatian hoped for more success with Tsitsipas. Instead, their collaboration concluded after less than two months. The 26-year-old's last match before the announcement was his retirement in the opening round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships against Valentin Royer.

Any chance of the pair succeeding together looked doomed since Ivanisevic unexpectedly tore into Tsitsipas a few weeks ago in an interview. He slammed him for repeatedly talking about wanting to get near the top without doing the necessary work, and also lambasted his fitness.

Although Tsitsipas's official announcement about the split was very respectful of Ivanisevic, his comments at a charity event at the Olympico Padel Club in Glyfada, as reported by SDNA, sounded like a clear critique of Ivanisevic.

Tsitsipas said he values working in a friendly atmosphere and does not want to collaborate with those with an authoritarian style who bring negative energy, which seemed like a response to Ivanisevic after his brutal comments about the Greek.

"When I work with the right people, with people that I choose and make me feel comfortable, there is a mood. Comfortable doesn't mean that I stop training whenever I want or that I tell you how much exercise I want to do, they are the ones who have a common line, who know how hard we work and what we want to achieve through the work we put in, but also maintain a friendly atmosphere throughout it all."

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"It is very difficult to have dictators and people who speak negatively and you don't feel like they are close to you like family. Being able to build a family out of this, people who will not only work with you in the tennis part but will also be your friends after your career, is something that I really want to build."

It can be argued that Tsitsipas needs someone with a more honest and strict approach to maximize his considerable talent. An atmosphere that is too comfortable sometimes prevents players from making necessary changes.

However, Tsitsipas's seemingly unhappy reaction to Ivanisevic's public scathing remarks is entirely understandable. Many coaches take an honest and direct approach behind the scenes without humiliating players by speaking publicly.

Although unconfirmed, there is speculation about Tsitsipas working with his father, Apostolos, again. He split with his father last year after being coached by him for many years. That would be a divisive move since many viewed the 57-year-old as an impediment to the former ATP Finals winner reaching the top.