Stefanos Tsitsipas And Brother Petros Withdraw From 2025 Australian Open Doubles
News
Stefanos Tsitsipas will only feature in the singles at the 2025 Australian Open after he and his brother, Petros, withdrew from the men's doubles.
Tsitsipas hopes to hit the ground running at the season's opening Grand Slam after a challenging 2024 season. He failed to qualify for the ATP Finals after making it to the tournament from 2019 until 2023.
The Greek No. 1 won the ATP Finals in his debut appearance at the event in 2019 after overcoming the now-retired Dominic Thiem in a dramatic final that entertained the fans in London, the host city at the time.
Tsitsipas believes that not adjusting to the lengthy season in 2024 partially explains why he did not qualify for the ATP Finals. The 26-year-old was particularly critical of the increased number of two-week Masters 1000 tournaments.
However, three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka exposed Tsitsipas' hypocrisy by showing a video from 2022 of Tsitsipas speaking approvingly of the idea during a conversation with the ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi.
While Tsitsipas endured challenges in 2024, it is important to note that he did win a third Monte Carlo Masters title. That demonstrates how 'bad' seasons are relative when speaking about top players.
Nonetheless, the two-time Grand Slam runner-up did not come close to winning a first major title last year and suffered many disappointing and surprising defeats that he undoubtedly hopes to avoid throughout 2025.
Tsitsipas chose not to play any warmup tournaments before the Australian Open. Jannik Sinner, who discovered the date for the CAS hearing into his doping case, Carlos Alcaraz, and Daniil Medvedev also did not compete in any events before the Australian Open.
While that approach is not unusual or groundbreaking, it could be risky for Tsitsipas after his difficulties in 2024. Players have to choose between gaining match fitness or rest and recovery time. The Greek chose the latter.
However, Tsitsipas might still be confident because of his previous success at the Australian Open. He was the 2023 runner-up to Novak Djokovic, losing the final in straight sets despite being competitive throughout.
The additional rest time Stefanos received meant he probably felt competing in the doubles with his younger brother Petros was feasible when they signed up. They played in last year's Olympics together.
Petros has never been ranked inside the Top 700 in singles or the Top 50 in doubles, meaning he is not a natural partner choice for Stefanos. Yet, they often play together, showing how much Stefanos wants to support his brother.
Their most notable achievements as a partnership were reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open and winning the 2023 European Open. Considering Petros' ranking compared to Stefanos, those are not bad results.
However, the brothers will not continue that partnership at the Australian Open after they withdrew from the men's doubles. No official reason for the move was given by either man.
While it is impossible to know for sure, singles players withdrawing from the doubles is common. Therefore, it seems likely that Stefanos made the decision to withdraw, but neither man has confirmed that.
