Where is Tsitsipas?

From a player with great potential, Stefanos Tsitsipas is now experiencing a rapid decline in his career.

Tsitsipas' career is on a downward spiral - Photo: Reuters

At Wimbledon this year, Tsitsipas once again disappointed. In the first round, he withdrew after only two sets against Valentin Royer due to injury. At that point, he was also trailing 3-6, 2-6. Since the beginning of 2025, Tsitsipas has not once advanced beyond the second round of a Grand Slam tournament.

Persistent injuries have severely impacted the Greek tennis player since last year. From consistently being in the top 10 in the world , he has now fallen to 26th place. To outsiders, perhaps they would sympathize with him.

But those involved – those who understand the situation outside the football pitch – don't accept that. This is because recently, Tsitsipas's coach, Goran Ivanisevic, made some surprising statements criticizing him after the defeat at Wimbledon.

"It's simple, yet not simple at all. I've spoken to Tsitsipas many times. If he can resolve the issues outside of the tennis court, he will return to where he belongs, which is in the top 10 in the world."

Tsitsipas craves it, but doesn't take any action. He's always saying, "I want this, I want that," but nothing actually changes. I'm truly shocked; I've never seen a player so unprepared. With that knee, honestly, I'm probably healthier than him," - these were the sarcastic remarks Ivanisevic made to the press.

From a professional standpoint, a coach shouldn't publicly criticize an athlete in the media like that. But Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001 and spent many years coaching Novak Djokovic during his peak before moving on to Tsitsipas. Therefore, there must be a reason behind what he said.

"What are the issues outside the tennis court?" Although Ivanisevic didn't say it explicitly, many suspect it's about Tsitsipas's relationship with female tennis player Paula Badosa. They started dating in 2023, then broke up last year. After both were eliminated at Wimbledon, Tsitsipas and Badosa confirmed their split. It's possible that constantly dealing with a broken relationship is affecting Tsitsipas's preparation, leaving him mentally unstable.

In the past, no one expected Tsitsipas to dethrone Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer from the "big three." Later, no one had much faith that he would achieve great things ahead of the next generation like Alcaraz and Sinner.

But at least, with his talent, he deserves at least one Grand Slam. However, in the last two years, his appearances in major tournaments have decreased significantly. The number of titles he has won is also negligible, mostly from lower-level ATP 250 tournaments. He's even lost his place in the top 10. And surely, if things don't change, soon no one will recognize Tsitsipas anymore, even though he's not yet 27 years old.

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dau-roi-tsitsipas-20250705232016764.htm