Stefanos Tsitsipas ‘has the will to get back to the highest level’ and can once again challenge for Grand Slam titles, despite widespread criticism during his two-year slump.
The Greek has struggled for form since the middle of 2024, a season in which he finished outside the world’s top 10 for the first time since 2018.
At the start of the following season, he suffered a shock first-round exit at the Australian Open before bouncing back to win his maiden ATP 500 title in Dubai.
However, the remainder of the campaign proved hugely disappointing. Tsitsipas suffered an early exit at the French Open before retiring from his opening-round match at Wimbledon with a back injury.
It was during the grass-court season that he appointed former Wimbledon champion and ex-Novak Djokovic coach Goran Ivanisevic to his team.
Despite the change, Tsitsipas finished outside the world’s top 30 and has since slipped further down the rankings.
In June, the former world No 3 announced he had split with his father as coach for the second time, describing the decision as ‘final’.
Thomas Perrin, a coach at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy, has since taken over the role, with Mouratoglou himself serving in an advisory capacity.
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The pair endured a frustrating first tournament together at Wimbledon. Tsitsipas comfortably defeated Hugo Gaston in the opening round before being comprehensively beaten by Novak Djokovic.
However, just two weeks later, he claimed his first title since February 2025 by winning the ATP 250 clay-court event in Gstaad.
“He really has the will to get back to the highest level, and I 100% believe he can do it, otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” Perrin analysed during a recent interview.
“He is committed, receptive, and physically, his back is fine. There are many things to put back in place gradually, and that’s what we’re working on.”
“After Roland-Garros, Stefanos took time for himself to think about how he sees his future,” he recalled. “What came out of it is that he really wants to move on to something different, with a new team and a new project.
“The fact of separating professionally from his father is a decision he thought through carefully. He no longer has any questions about it. He wanted to take his career back into his own hands, and that’s done. Mentally, he is very motivated.”
“Before starting any projects, you have to get to know and understand the person.”
“It’s easy, behind the television, to say: ‘He doesn’t do this well, he should play like that.’
“But it’s another thing to try to understand the reasons that prevent the player from doing better. Afterwards, we will obviously rely on his strengths, especially the serve and forehand, which worked very well in Gstaad.
“Finding his baseline game again will help him regain confidence and set up other areas of work.”
Tsitsipas successfully came through qualifying for the Masters 1000 event in Canada and will face world No 104 Martin Damm in the first round of the main draw.
