"If he doesn't do it, then I have to do it": Stefanos Tsitsipas reveals one big reason behind splitting with father Apostolos Tsitsipas

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas has opened up about the reason behind splitting with his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas. The 26-year-old was once regarded as one of the most talented players in men’s tennis but has failed to deliver consistent performances.

His father coached Stefanos for more than two decades, but their partnership ended in 2024. There were a lot of rumours about the reason behind the two splitting up after such a long time. Stefanos has been recently quoted in a report, where he explained that one of the primary reasons behind a split up was that he could not see his father stressing and hurting around him.

"Seeing him stressed around me, seeing him suffer so much, hurts me as well because that's also one of the big reasons I decided to let go,” he said. “His personality will never admit that he's suffering or that he's feeling bad. If he doesn't do it, then I have to do it. It's for his own good and for his own protection. It's not always about me."

Stefanos has been going through a lean patch, especially since the start of 2024. Last year, his only title triumph was the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4. Last year, he played 63 matches across all competitions, winning 42 times and suffering 21 defeats.

This year, Stefanos had a poor start, and he suffered an early exit from the Australian Open. He lost in the first round to America’s Alex Michelsen with a score of 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. It was only the second time in his career that Stefanos suffered a first-round exit from the first Grand Slam of the year. The only other time such a thing happened was back in 2018, when he lost to Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-3, 7-6.