Stefanos Tsitsipas Fires Father Apostolos as Coach

Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday announced he was parting ways with his coach Apostolos Tsitsipas – his father – in a lengthy post shared on the player’s X (formerly Twitter) account.

The decision came after the ATP 11th-ranked player profanely swore at his father and demanded he leave the stands during Tsitsipas’ recent match against Kei Nishikori in the Canadian Open. In a televised and now widely disseminated outburst, Tsitsipas directed his father and coach to leave the box.

“I prefer to keep my father in the role of father, and only as a father,” he stated, among other things, in the long post, written in Greek. He also thanked his father and long-time mentor for his contributions to his development and successes as a player.

Tsitsipas, the most successful player from Greece in tennis history, expressed his regret about outrageous behavior.

“Our philosophy teaches that wisdom comes from understanding our limits and recognizing our mistakes. In my case, I realized I was wrong to speak to my father the way I did. Tennis is not just a match, a stroke, or a performance lasting a few seconds. It’s a long journey full of emotions, pressure, and expectations. In that moment of frustration, there were many mistakes and errors from my coach and father. As an introvert, I tend to keep my emotions bottled up until I reach a point of explosion. I consider myself patient, so the fact that I reacted this way shocked me,” Stefanos Tsitsipas said.

“My behavior on the court was unacceptable, and I feel disappointed that I reached a point where I showed a dark side of myself. When I feel disrespected, judged, or emotionally attacked, I tend to lose control of what comes out of my mouth, which contradicts my values as a person. I lost control and couldn’t see clearly in front of me.”