Greek tennis star announces coaching breakup from father

Stefanos Tsitsipas announced on Friday via social media that he was splitting his coaching partnership with his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas. The decision comes one day after the 25-year-old openly criticized Apostolos following the 11th-ranked player's stunning loss to 576th-ranked Kei Nishikori in the Canadian Open.

Stefanos did, however, confirm that his father will continue to travel with him on tour and said he will "be there to support me and provide assistance off the court, as I have always wanted."

Apostolos has coached his son since childhood, but Stefanos said after Thursday's loss that he was "really disappointed in him." Stefanos said, "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."

"It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that my collaboration with my father as a coach has come to an end," Stefanos wrote on Friday. "I prefer to keep my father in his role as a father, and only as a father.

"Philosophy teaches us that wisdom comes through understanding our limits and acknowledging our mistakes. In my case, I realized that I was wrong to talk to my father the way I did. Tennis is not just a match, a hit or a performance of a few seconds."

According to a report by Ben Burrows and James Hansen of The Athletic, this isn't the first time in recent months that the two-time major finalist has split from someone he worked with.

Per the report, Stefanos' fitness coach, Christos Fiotakis, left his position in June because he was "not satisfied" with the athlete's work ethic.

"His father has previously been criticized for his on-court coaching, receiving multiple code violations before the tennis tours made the widespread but illegal practice part of their rules at the 2022 U.S. Open," the report added.

Stefanos has been on a name on the rise in recent years, first making the ATP top 10 in March 2019 and being ranked as high as third on three separate instances.

His best finishes in Grand Slam events came at the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open , when he fell to Novak Djokovic in the finals on both occasions. Stefanos held a two-set lead on the Joker at Roland Garros before falling 6-7 (6-8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

While he'll be moving on to another coach in the future, Stefanos had regrets about how he handled things on Thursday.

"It is a long journey full of emotions, pressure and expectations. In that moment of frustration, there were many mistakes and errors on the part of my coach and father. As an introvert, I tend to hold in my emotions and build them up until I reach a bursting point. I consider myself patient, so the fact that I reacted this way left me shocked," he said.

"My behavior on the court was unacceptable, and I feel disappointed that I got to a point where I showed a dark side of myself. When I feel disrespected, judged, or emotionally attacked, I tend to lose control of what comes out of my mouth, which goes against my values as a human being. I lost control and could not see clearly in front of me."