The professional relationship between Greek tennis player Stéfanos Tsitsipas and his father, Apostolos Tsitsipashas come to an end, marking the closing of a complicated chapter in the race of the young athlete. This decision came after a particularly tense episode during the Canadian Master 1,000, where the Greek tennis player publicly attacked against his father after being eliminated in the first round by the Japanese Kei Nishikori. The rupture between the two has generated considerable media attentionnot only because of family closeness, but also because of the complex and often tumultuous dynamics they have exhibited over the years on the professional tennis circuit.
This disagreement is not the first in his career, but it does seem to have been the definitive trigger for Stéfanos to decide that It was time to change the structure of your team. In a statement, the tennis player regretted his behavior towards his father and confirmed that his collaboration as a coach had come to an end. However, he expressed that Apostolos would continue accompanying him in the tournaments, but exclusively in his role as father.
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© GETTY IMAGESStéfanos acknowledged in his statement that the tensions accumulated over the years and his tendency to repress emotions were factors that led to this outcome. “My father has probably been the nucleus of my entire life, not only in tennis but also in my daily life. He has been a very important figure, but I had already felt on several occasions the need to move forward professionally without him. Obviously, he is one of the great people responsible for my successes so far, but I also need to explore my own limits, have my story and embark on a different journey in which to continue learning,” says the tennis player in the interview given this week to ¡HOLA!, and then added: “It has been very difficult for both of us to have a natural father-son relationship during all these years of championships. That was also one of the main reasons why I decided to part ways with him as a coach. Ultimately, it can also be understood as a way of save our relationship and build something healthy in the future.”
It should be remembered that Stéfanos is the oldest of four brothers in a family almost entirely dedicated to tennis. Despite feeling an enormous attraction to art since he was a child (he is a great lover of reading, philosophy and, above all, photography, as demonstrated on his personal Instagram profile), fleeing from tennis would have been a utopia in his case. His father taught of this sport when, in the 80s, he fell in love with a Soviet player, Julia Apostoli.
© GETTY IMAGESThe professional relationship between Stéfanos and Apostolos, who trained him since he was nine years oldit has been a roller coaster. It is not the first time that they have decided to end their collaboration as coach and pupil. Back in 2023, the pair had briefly gone their separate ways, with Mark Philippoussis, a former professional tennis player, taking on the role of coach. However, that collaboration was also brief and, after only two months, Stefanos decided to work with his father again. This return was seen at the time as an attempt to stabilize his career, but the persistence of the problems suggested that the underlying conflict had not been resolved.