Emotions can sometimes get the better of players playing in an intense environment. Ask Greek star, Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been a victim of this problem on several occasions. Over the past few months, Tsitsipas’ form has downgraded massively, making early exits at the tournaments. Additionally, he hasn’t been able to keep his emotions under check, having angry outbursts on the court. Recently, he made a candid revelation about the number of tennis rackets broken by him on the court.

Back in May last year at the Italian Open, Tsitsipas lost his cool just at the start of his match against Jan-Lennard Struff.  Subsequently, he found it difficult to control his emotions, and he smashed his racket onto the signboard in a visible sign of frustration. This incident occurred just 5 minutes after the start of the match, showing his hot-headed nature when things don’t go right on the court.

Tsitsipas is in Dubai, playing in the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. During a candid conversation there, Tsitsipas played the ‘Never have I ever game’ during which he was asked, “Never have I ever broken something expensive?”  Responding to this, he revealed, “A tennis racket.” Subsequently, the interviewer asked Tsitsipas how many rackets had he broken to which he laughingly said, “Probably under 20. Let’s say under 30 just to be safe.”

Be it good or bad, Tsitsipas has often let the emotions get the better of him. Even after winning the Monte Carlo Masters title last year, he had an emotional moment and later explained, “I had a difficult few months at the end of last season, I had a bad injury. People don’t know how difficult it was for me to recover from such an injury, which was relatively serious. Even the doctors thought it would take me longer, there was a chance I might even miss the Australian summer.” 

Meanwhile, Tsitsipas seems to be struggling physically and mentally this season. After his shocking loss in Rotterdam, he opened up about his ongoing problems.

Stefanos Tsitsipas reflects on his shock defeat: ‘Had a brain fog during the match’

It hasn’t been a great start to the season for Tsitsipas. Earlier this year, he bowed out of the Australian Open in the first round. Hoping to make a strong comeback in Rotterdam, poor results continued for the Greek star as he suffered a shocking defeat against Mattia Belluccii in the quarterfinals. Further, he also exited the Qatar Open in the first round.

Reflecting on his state of mind amid a poor run of results, Tsitsipas revealed, “I think it was a battle of freshness. He was more fresh than me. My mind was a little bit – it felt foggy, like I had a brain fog during the match. I couldn’t see clearly what I was trying to do and where I was trying to play. And it was difficult.”

Tsitsipas is currently playing against Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. He has won the opening set and is looking good to enter the round of 16. Can Tsitsipas win the first title of the 2025 season in Dubai? Let us know your views in the comments below.