By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday August 9, 2024
Less than 24 hours after opening up with reporters about how disappointed he was in the coaching of his father Apostolos, Stefanos Tsitsipas has taken to social media to announce that his father will no longer be coaching him.
“It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that my collaboration with my father as a coach has come to an end. I prefer to keep my father in his role as a father, and only as a father,” Tsitsipas posted on X.
The announcement comes less than a day after Tsitsipas had called out his dad for his lack of communication.
Tsitsipas and Apostolos had a confrontation during the Greek’s 6-4, 6-4 loss to Kei Nishikori on Thursday in Montreal.
“My father hasn't been very smart or very good at handling those situations, trying to relieve what’s happening inside the court – that’s really poor performance and it's not the first time he has done that. I’m really disappointed,” he told reporters.
Asked at the time if he’d consider making a change, Tsitsipas said:
“I really don't know right now if I'd consider any changes, but I'm very disappointed because the most important thing for a player with a coach is to have direct and good feedback, and to have a coach that listens to the player.
“The coach is not the one holding a racket. The player is the one that is trying to execute a game plan and trying to make things happen on the tennis court. I have power in some degree but It's also a collaborative work that you put in together. It has to be reciprocal in order for me to try to develop my tennis. It's something that I really don't want to stay stagnant at.”
Tsitsipas thanked his father, and added that the pair will continue to travel together, with Apostolos featuring as an advisor.
“My father has been trying for the last few years to train me, raise me the right way and provide me with knowledge and wisdom, both on and off the field,” he wrote. “I thank him for that. I thank him for the sacrifices, pain and suffering he has endured to make this endeavor a success. From now on, his role will remain within the confines of the father role, and that alone.
“My father will continue to travel with me and be there to support me and provide assistance off the field, as I have always wanted. I have trusted my father with the coaching role for so many years, and I consider our partnership to be successful. I'm not sure who will take his place, and I'm not in a position to decide yet.”
It’s not the first time Tsitsipas and his father ended their coach/player relationship. The pair parted ways for two months last year as Mark Philippoussis took the reins. It didn’t last.
11th-ranked Tsitsipas is 35-15 on the season with a Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo. He has 335 career wins and 11 ATP titles, and has reached two major finals, all with his father at the helm.