Stefanos Tsitsipas recently suffered a shocking exit from the Canadian Open at the hands of Kei Nishikori. The 34-year-old tennis star from the ‘Land of the Rising Sun‘ completely outclassed Tsitsipas by 6-4,6-4 in the R32 match. With this defeat, suddenly darkness loomed up in the skies of the Greek tennis heartthrob. During the match, fans saw him openly venting out at his father and coach Apostolos. Tennis pundits aren’t very pleased about the situation, as this ugly father-son dynamic isn’t one-of-a-kind.

Shortly after the match, Tsitsipas appeared at the press conference and during the post-match press conference, he revealed he deserves a coach who pays attention to his “feedback.” The player said he has been complaining to his coach about not being able to perform with his forehand for the last few days. That was, in fact, one of the primary reasons for this recent confrontation. However, he further went on to add, “For me, an ATP Master 1000 match is an important match. I need and I deserve a coach that listens to me and hears my feedback as a player. My father hasn’t been very smart or very good at handling those situations.” Tsitsipas said he’s very much disappointed with his dad.

After hearing his statement regarding Apostolos, tennis experts Andrea Petkovic and Sam Querrey shared their opinions on the Tennis Channel. Petkovic said, “Today was the first time Tsitsipas really talked in a critical way about his dad or about the relationship. He felt like he wasn’t being heard by his dad. He wasn’t listened to. I think that’s something if it wasn’t his dad, it’s something we probably would have just been like yeah, ‘another coaching dysfunctional relationship.’ This is obviously adding a bit more fuel to the whole thing.” Sam Querrey then went on to add, “Look I loved it, You don’t get that raw emotion from players too often.“

The 36-year-old former tennis player claimed this turn of events was really a bit of a “unique” thing. However, was it the first time we witnessed this with Tsitsipas and his dad though? The answer is a big no! If we just go back a few months back, we saw Tsitsipas having yet another similar ugly spat with his dad during the French Open.

The tennis star was so irritated with the actions of Apostolos that he even instructed him to “shut up.” We have seen how Tsitsipas hit a ball toward his box during the 2020 ATP Finals. So, there have been multiple such events featuring the father-son duo, but what’s next?

Tsitsipas refused to confirm whether he would consider replacing his father for yet another time

Previously Tsitsipas has been often found stating how his father has always been by his side even when he wasn’t there physically. Apostolos introduced him to the sport at a very early age. Then in 2015, he moved to Patrick Mouratoglou Academy. Tsitsipas was just 14 years old at that time. His father stood by his son through all his thick and thins. However, in August 2023, the Greek tennis star parted ways with his father stating he wanted to give his father “some time off.”

He later hired Mark Phiippoussi to join his team. Tsitsipas has previously worked with from February 2020 to May 2023. However, even that partnership didn’t stand for too long, and parted ways with him a few months later.

He yet again brought his father into his team, but now with the recent developments, fans wonder whether he’s considering replacing his father for a second time. In reply to this, Tsitsipas said, “I really don’t know right now if I’d consider any changes, but I’m really disappointed.” He revealed that the most important thing for a player is to have “direct and good feedback” from a coach.

Tsitsipas believes it’s more of a collaborative work that they need to put together. This is something which is very important for his development and he doesn’t want to get stuck at that.