Stefanos Tsitsipas and Goran Ivanisevic just wrapped up one of the shortest coaching partnerships in recent tennis memory. And now we’re getting a pretty clear picture of why things went so wrong.
The Greek star’s recent comments at a charity event sound like he’s taking some serious shots at his former coach.
Tsitsipas hooked up with Ivanisevic right after this year’s French Open. It seemed like a solid move at the time – after all, Ivanisevic had just finished a pretty successful five-year run coaching Novak Djokovic from 2019 until their split in March.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 27 | 3,740 | 28 - 10 |
The Croatian coach tried his luck with Elena Rybakina during the off-season. But that partnership crashed and burned even faster, ending right after the Australian Open because Rybakina wanted to bring back her old coach.
A Partnership Doomed From the Start
So Ivanisevic was looking for a fresh start with Tsitsipas. Instead, he got less than two months before everything fell apart.
Their collaboration ended after Tsitsipas retired in the first round at Wimbledon against Valentin Royer. Not exactly the kind of results either guy was hoping for.
But the real drama started when Ivanisevic decided to air some dirty laundry in public. The former Wimbledon champion absolutely tore into Tsitsipas in an interview a few weeks ago, basically saying the 26-year-old talks a big game about wanting to reach the top but doesn’t put in the work.
He also went after Tsitsipas’s fitness level. Pretty brutal stuff to say publicly about your own player.
Tsitsipas Fires Back
While Tsitsipas kept things diplomatic in his official announcement about the split, his comments at the Olympico Padel Club in Glyfada tell a different story.
He made it pretty clear he doesn’t appreciate coaches with an authoritarian style who bring negative energy. Wonder who he could be talking about?
"When I work with the right people, with people that I choose and make me feel comfortable, there is a mood. Comfortable doesn’t mean that I stop training whenever I want or that I tell you how much exercise I want to do, they are the ones who have a common line, who know how hard we work and what we want to achieve through the work we put in, but also maintain a friendly atmosphere throughout it all."
That sounds like someone who didn’t feel too comfortable with his recent coaching situation.
"It is very difficult to have dictators and people who speak negatively and you don’t feel like they are close to you like family. Being able to build a family out of this, people who will not only work with you in the tennis part but will also be your friends after your career, is something that I really want to build."
The word dictators is doing some heavy lifting there. It’s hard not to see this as a direct response to Ivanisevic’s public criticism.
Who’s Right Here?
Look, you could argue that Tsitsipas needs someone to give him some tough love. The guy’s got incredible talent but hasn’t quite put it all together to win a Grand Slam yet.
Maybe being too comfortable isn’t what he needs right now.
But here’s the thing – Tsitsipas’s reaction makes total sense. Most coaches who take a direct, honest approach do it behind closed doors. They don’t humiliate their players in newspaper interviews.
There’s a big difference between being tough in practice and throwing your player under the bus publicly.
What’s Next?
The rumor mill is already spinning about Tsitsipas potentially going back to his father, Apostolos, as his coach. They worked together for years before splitting last year.
That would be a pretty controversial move. A lot of people thought his dad was actually holding him back from reaching his full potential.
But after this whole mess with Ivanisevic, maybe Tsitsipas figures family drama is better than public humiliation from a hired coach.
Either way, the former ATP Finals winner needs to figure something out quickly. At 26, he’s running out of time to turn that talent into Grand Slam titles.
