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Stefanos Tsitsipas has announced that former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic will be his new coach. Tsitsipas has dropped to No. 26 in the world after an inconsistent season that had promised much after the Greek won in Dubai in February. Since then, Tsitsipas has achieved just two quarterfinals, and by his exalted standards, failed to perform on his favorite clay court surface.
Tsitsipas has not had a full-time coach since parting ways with his father, Apostolos, in August 2024, but has now decided to put his game in the hands of Ivanisevic. The 53-year-old looked after Novak Djokovic from 2018 to 2024, playing a part in a hugely successful period for the Serb, and is widely respected on the ATP tour as a coach.
Tsitsipas is fresh from a poor showing at the French Open, a tournament where he was a finalist in 2021 and reached the quarterfinals in 2023 and 2024. He was knocked out in the second round by Matteo Gigante in four sets, 4-6, 7-5, 2-6, 4-6. The 26-year-old has now decided he needs new direction, and believes Ivanisevic is the man to provide it. As reported by puntodebreak.com, Tsitsipas said:
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"He is a very honest man, which I appreciate. That's what I needed in a coach, honesty and transparency between player and coach. I believe that with a good mindset, good work ethic, and a solid training and match structure, we can achieve great collaboration together."
Ivanisevic agreed with Tsitsipas. The Croatian believes that his new charge is playing nowhere near his best tennis, and should be much higher in the rankings:
"Right now, I cannot say that he is in his best tennis and physical condition. He is a player who should be in the top five in the world, in terms of potential, results, and everything else."
Despite Ivanisevic's confidence in Tsitsipas, he knows the pair have a lot of work to do to return the former World No. 3 to his rightful place. Ivanisevic stresses that he doesn't have a magic wand to make that happen:
"I am not Harry Potter, and I will not change everything overnight with a wand. But, of course, if he works and there is cooperation as there should be, the results will come, both with me and without me. He is too good a player to be where he is, to play the way he is playing at the moment."
Stefanos Tsitsipas still has plenty of time to reach his full potential
Tsitsipas has reached two Major finals in his career: the 2021 Roland Garros final, in which he was two sets up against Novak Djokovic before unraveling and losing the closing three sets 3-6, 2-6, 4-6, and the 2023 Australian Open final. In that match, he again lost to Djokovic, this time over four sets. At 26, he still has a long career ahead of him.
Tsitsipas acknowledges that his efforts since that final in 2023 have been below par. He is determined to improve:
"The last two years have not been good for me, and I also need to work on myself; it's not just about the people around me. I have not worked as hard in recent months"
Ivanisevic has the coaching credentials to help Tsitsipas. He won his first and only Grand Slam title after 13 years on the ATP tour, at the age of 29. If Ivanisevic can replicate with Tsitsipas the success he had with Djokovic, the Greek ace is in good hands.
