Tsitsipas New Coach Ivanisevic Makes Brutal Admission About His Physical State

Stefanos Tsitsipas is heading in the wrong direction, and his new coach Goran Ivanisevic isn’t sugarcoating it.

Just a few years back, Tsitsipas looked like tennis’s next big thing. He beat every member of the Big Three – that’s Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer – at least twice each. He made it to two Grand Slam finals, won the 2019 ATP Finals, and climbed all the way to World No. 3.

But things have changed pretty dramatically for the 26-year-old Greek star.

He’s now ranked 26th in the world and will drop even lower after this year’s Wimbledon.

A Coaching Change That’s Not Going Smoothly

Trying to stop the slide, Tsitsipas recently brought in Goran Ivanisevic – you know, the guy who coached Djokovic to multiple Grand Slam titles. The Croatian coach was supposed to help Tsitsipas get back to his old winning ways.

But Ivanisevic isn’t holding back about what he’s seeing.

The 2001 Wimbledon champion just gave a pretty shocking interview where he called Tsitsipas the "most unprepared player" he’s ever worked with. That’s coming from someone who’s been around professional tennis for decades.

The 53-year-old Croatian even claimed he’s in better shape than his new student – and he’s dealing with a knee injury.

"It’s simple and it’s not easy. I’ve talked to him a lot of times. If he resolves some things outside of tennis, then he has a chance and will return to where he belongs, because he’s too good a player to be out of the Top 10."

That sounds like there’s more going on than just tennis technique.

"He wants to, but he doesn’t do anything. All the ‘I want, I want,’ but I don’t see any progress. I was shocked, I’ve never seen a more unprepared player in my life. With this knee, I’m three times more prepared than him. This is really bad."

Ouch. That’s pretty brutal honesty from a coach about his own player.

Family Drama and Team Problems

This isn’t the first time there’s been talk about problems in Tsitsipas’s camp. His former physio previously spoke about issues within the Greek player’s team setup.

Tsitsipas has worked with his father, Apostolos, for most of his career. But Ivanisevic has experience coaching a 24-time Grand Slam champion, so he knows what championship-level preparation actually looks like.

The contrast is apparently pretty stark.

Tsitsipas Knows Something’s Wrong

After his disappointing loss at Wimbledon – his first match with Ivanisevic in his corner – Tsitsipas admitted he couldn’t show his new coach what he’s capable of.

"Oh, he’s great. We’re having a great time. I am very disappointed that I wasn’t able to show my potential the way I deserve to play on the court. It’s not easy. It’s not easy."

You can hear the frustration in those words.

"I feel like even if he gives me the most amount of confidence in the world, if I don’t feel comfortable, if I don’t feel good with myself and my body, then I can’t really show anything."

That sounds like someone who’s struggling with more than just his forehand and backhand.

The Greek star will get another chance to prove himself when the grass season ends. He’s planning to compete at the Croatia Open in Umag – a clay court event that should give him and Ivanisevic more time to work things out.

But based on his new coach’s comments, they’ve got a lot of work ahead of them.