Stefanos Tsitsipas might be one of the most talented players on the ATP Tour, but he will want to quickly forget this year.
Even good players have bad years. Tsitsipas has been a very consistent player since he broke out in 2018 when he finished the year as the World No. 15, ending the season by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals.
Little did he know that already the following year he would make it to the "real" ATP Finals and even lift the trophy at the end of the tournament. The Greek player was the sixth seed, but he made it out of the round-robin stage and won the following two matches to win the ATP Finals on his debut.
Since then, he qualified for the year-end championship every single year. Unfortunately for him, he has managed to win only two more matches at the event since his maiden triumph, as he was also forced to withdraw from the tournament twice out of the last four editions.
Still, just making it to the ATP Finals is a success for many players, and for someone like Tsitsipas, who hasn't finished a year ranked lower than sixth since 2019, making the ATP Finals is certainly a clear goal every season.
This year, however, he didn't make it to Turin. Tsitsipas ended 11th in the 2024 ATP Race with 3,165 points, which was 580 points behind ninth Alex de Minaur, who was the last player to qualify, thanks to Novak Djokovic's withdrawal.
Tsitsipas likes to share his thoughts on social media, and like many of his colleagues, he reflected on the 2024 season in a social media post while vacationing with his girlfriend, Paula Badosa.
In the post, the 26-year-old Greek player admitted that not making the ATP Finals this year was a humbling experience for him, especially since he made it to the competition for five consecutive years.
"Not making into the ATP Finals this year was a humbling experience, teaching me the value of resilience and perspective. I strive for it, but I’ve learned that perfection doesn’t exist within me, and that’s okay."
"Even if you wish for it, it doesn’t come just by the thought of it. The real difference lies in execution and consistent effort."
Tsitsipas is aware that the 2024 season wasn't an ideal one for him. He won only 45 matches, which was by far his lowest mark since 2016, except for the COVID-hit season, when he finished the year ranked 210th.
That's why he likely wants to implement some changes to how he does things, and one of those changes was firing his father Apostolos from the position of his coach.
"Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a process that requires patience and commitment. Even if results don’t show right away. I trust that these changes will lead me to where I want to go."
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