Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled out of the 2025 Croatia Open in Umag, his coach Goran Ivansevic's home tournament, a week after he made shocking comments about the Greek No. 1.
Tsitsipas had previously committed to playing at the clay-court ATP 250 tournament, which is scheduled from July 20th to 26th. It will occur in the second week after the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
That is no longer the case after Tsitsipas withdrew from the Croatia Open after a bad recurrence of his back injury. It is a chronic issue that the two-time Grand Slam runner-up has to manage consistently.
The latest flare-up happened at Wimbledon over a week ago. Tsitsipas withdrew from his opening round match against Valentin Royer after the pain in his back became too much to bear.
In a press conference afterward, Tsitsipas spoke emotionally about the lower back injury that he first sustained a few years ago. The 26-year-old said he cannot hit and rotate properly because of the ailment.
Tsitsipas caused a stir by then saying he could retire from the sport. The three-time Monte-Carlo Masters champion plans to give his back another year to improve, but will step away from professional tennis if the problem does not improve.
His back issue, causing the withdrawal, will prevent any speculation that it is linked to what Ivanisevic said about Tsitsipas. Centre Court at the Croatia Open is named after the 2001 Wimbledon champion.
Those not privy to all the details might have speculated that Tsitsipas withdrew from a tournament close to Ivanisevic's heart to show him that he was unhappy with his coach's brutal remarks about him.
Ivanisevic slammed Tsitsipas' preparation and mentality, claiming that the 26-year-old talks a lot about how much he wants to achieve but does not demonstrate that with his training and preparation.
The Croatian also ripped into the 2023 Australian Open runner-up's fitness, shockingly saying he, at age 53 with a bad knee, is in a better physical state than Tsitsipas is with his troublesome back.
Although honesty in player/coach relationships is important, Ivanisevic's public comments felt harsh. It might be challenging for them to build a long-term rapport after such a shaky start.
Reports indicate that Tsitsipas also went through some stressful times in his personal life. Several sources wrote articles saying that he and Paula Badosa had split after two years together, aside from a few weeks apart in 2024.
Badosa has also been managing a chronic back injury in the last few years. The reports about their split included quotes from those close to them, which said their respective challenging periods weighed on the relationship.
Tsitsipas was not the only high-profile player to announce their withdrawal from a tournament after Wimbledon. Alexander Zverev removed himself from the 2025 Swiss Open in Gstaad entry list for personal reasons.
Zverev also exited in the opening round of Wimbledon after losing to Arthur Rinderknech. In his post-match press conference, he was emotional about struggling mentally and discussed possibly talking to a therapist.
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