Apostolos Tsitsipas, the father of the Greece tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas, clarified the video that was posted recently. The 26-year-old recently posted a video on social media about the impact on children living with narcissistic parents.
"The child of a narcissistic parent learns early that love is conditional,” the video narrated. “They quickly understand they’ll only be loved for what they do, not who they are. The child abandons their true self, morphing into whatever version their highly critical and opinionated parent deems worthy. Deep within lies a profound sense of betrayal. They were loved, yes, but unconsciously used by the most significant person in their world. The anxiety, anger and pain remain.”
Apostolos has been recently quoted in a report where he explained his son’s motivation behind posting the video. The 57-year-old was of the opinion that the video that was shared by Tsitsipas was not his own and that he shared the video to bring more awareness about the kind of troubles children face if their parents are narcissistic.
"The post is not his own; someone else made it,” he said. “This post, from what I saw, is on YouTube. He borrowed it from YouTube and posted it, he made a repost, that’s what it’s called. Everyone makes reposts, what does that mean? Stefanos is simply saying that parents very much love, deeply love their children; they have a pathological love for their children, that’s what he means. Narcissism means a pathological love for my children. And I want my children to be better than me, that's what it means. He isn't talking about anyone in particular; he's just saying that parents love their children very much. That’s the message, that’s what you should take away. That parents love their children very much, and rightfully so. And sometimes they love them pathologically."
Grateful for the love and support these days. Grateful for my family’s belief in me—our roots are unchanging. Strengthened by this support, I move forward with confidence and optimism.
— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@steftsitsipas) December 6, 2024
It’s time to rebuild the game. #RebuildTheGame pic.twitter.com/CkUvuxEpZ9