Stefanos Tsitsipas Grateful for Father's Sacrifices, Says He Needed to Step Back from Coaching Role

Statements ahead of the Australian Open were made by Tsitsipas.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is preparing to "go into battle" for the Australian Open and spoke at the press conference about his preparation, the Greek audience in Melbourne, and his relationship with his father.

Having terminated their professional relationship last year, Stefanos Tsitsipas clarified that he still has an excellent relationship with his father Apostolos, but at the same time, the time had come for him to stop being his coach and that is why he is not with him at the Australian Open this year.

Tsitsipas' statements:

"I am truly happy to have returned to Melbourne. I am looking forward to starting 2025 here in Australia, which I have said is my home slam. It is an excellent opportunity to play on these courts, to receive the support of the audience that I have had in recent years. I just hope that my tennis will match well with the people and that I will be able to perform at the highest level, to bring the tennis that I have shown in recent years."

On his preparation: "I worked very hard in Dubai to prepare for Australia. Overall, I am very satisfied with the way I dedicated myself to the work and my mentality during the preseason seemed quite good. I was in a good phase. I had patience with the work. Obviously, there was also some fatigue due to the physical work, as I had to overcome some difficult moments during the preparation, such as fatigue."

On his relationship with his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas: "Honestly, I couldn't ask for anything more from my father. He was an exceptional coach, in my opinion. He has done more than what he could have done as a coach. I am truly grateful to him. I think he is a great person. For the sacrifices he has made for over a decade, not just in the last few years, but for his whole life, he has gone through a lot of anxiety. Coming from a very small country, Greece, without a background, without a tennis tradition, I am truly proud of him for how he endured and how he responded to those situations that were critical to my development in tennis.

I really want to go back to those moments because those were the ones that really shaped me as a player. Those were the years when I had to show my true abilities and he supported me. I believe that to this day he is one of the best coaches in the world. We still have an excellent relationship. He just had to take a step back and allow me to discover my own path as an adult. Yes, that's about it. He is still my father. He is still someone who comes to the court occasionally to give me some advice. He was with me recently in the Middle East. He watched some of my practices. I still consider him an important figure in my professional and private life. We have an incredible relationship, I owe him a lot. I really hope he can achieve the same things he did with me with the rest of the family members who want to pursue professional tennis, and with some other children he is working with recently. He has been successful with these children, which also shows how good and capable he is as a tennis professional."

On changes with coaches on tour: "Have I seen a change in matches due to advice? No, I haven't. It's still a very recent thing in tennis. We still haven't had the opportunity to see many intense battles in matches where players approach their coach and the microphone takes what they have to say, and we actually see it being applied to the tactical part of the game during the match. It's too early to see such things because it's a very recent addition to tennis. I suppose in the past matches have changed, results have changed because of this. But then it was done secretly. Personally, I had my own problems with this, receiving penalties because I didn't do it discreetly. Surely I'll tell you that there were many players on tour who did it with their coaches. I've seen videos of coaching happening and no penalty being imposed."