Tsitsipas Opens Up About 'Toxic' Relationship With His Father Before Split
NewsSaturday, 14 June 2025 at 12:01
Stefanos Tsitsipas spoke very honestly about the relationship with his father before the duo split last year.
Tsitsipas was coached by his father, Apostolos, for the vast majority of his tennis career. In recent years, that relationship didn't look very healthy, as the two were often seen arguing during the Greek player's matches.
Eventually, their split was inevitable, and it happened last year in August. Since then, Tsitsipas has worked with a temporary coach and has now settled on working with Goran Ivanisevic, with the two starting to work together during this grass-court season.
But before his first event with Ivanisevic in his corner, Tsitsipas openly spoke about the relationship with his father during a recent appearance on The Changeover Podcast.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist spoke very nicely about the relationship with his father, explaining how much Apostolos cares about his tennis career, sometimes even more than Stefanos himself.
"Our relationship has actually gotten better over the last couple of months. It was very hard and difficult in the beginning when we split. It was very hard for him to accept that he’s not part of my inner circle anymore. He’s still my father and he’s still someone that remains dear and close to me."
"He's an amazing person in my life, because he's done so many sacrifices, and he's done so much work. He stayed late nights to scout on my games, to evaluate games. He sometimes get even more bitter and upset than I do when I lose matches."
However, that kind of obsession was not always healthy. Tsitsipas admitted that he thinks his father lives his dream through him, and that's why their relationship took a wrong turn.
Tsitsipas admitted that at one point, their relationship was even toxic, which was the reason why they had to split. Since then, things have significantly improved.
"It reached a point before where tennis got too much in the way. And, as bad as it sounds, I think it became even toxic in a way because I felt like he was constantly hunting. It reached the point where he was hunting more than me and that’s where the pressure kicks in. That’s where I feel the toxicity of it all."
Tsitsipas can't wait to start working with Ivanisevic, who enjoyed enormous success with Novak Djokovic. However, the Greek player doesn't expect immediate improvement, he knows it will take some time.
"I am not expecting this to be suddenly something that starts giving me titles from week one or week two. I’m focusing more on the long process of it, the whole journey of working with him and my whole goal with that is to try and see improvements."
"I feel like that’s a part of an identity in a coach that is important, to not only coach me on how I can hit better forehands and backhands, but also coach me in the way I should probably be thinking."
"And, the way he has faced situations in his own personal career and maybe pass on those tough experiences, those adversity moments, and teach me through his own experiences."
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