Boris Becker drops 2-word verdict as Stefanos Tsitsipas-Goran Ivanisevic reports emerge after controversial Elena Rybakina split

Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas is reportedly planning to recruit former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic as his coach after the end of the 2025 clay-court season. The rumors received a 2-word response from tennis legend Boris Becker.

Ivanisevic's most significant coaching stint was with Novak Djokovic between 2019 and 2024, where the Serb won 12 of his 24 Grand Slam titles. In late 2024, Ivanisevic also briefly coached Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion. Their collaboration started in December on a trial basis but ended after the 2025 Australian Open, amidst the Kazakh's former coach Stefano Vukov's WTA ban.

The controversy reached a tipping point when Rybakina rehired Vukov earlier this year for off-court guidance amid her collaboration with Ivanisevic. Talking about his split, Ivanisevic admitted that the abrupt end to his partnership with Kazakh was "strange" and "sad."

Vukov was suspended in March by the WTA after an investigation concluded that he broke the Code of Conduct with actions classified as mental abuse. He was banned for a year and prohibited from accessing official credentials, practice courts, locker rooms, and player facilities at WTA tournaments.

According to the Greek website gazzetta.gr, Goran Ivanisevic is set to start coaching 26-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas after the end of the clay court season, or more specifically, after Roland Garros. Responding to the reports on X (formerly Twitter), Becker left a 2-word response, saying:

"Good news!"

The news of Ivanisevic becoming a member of Tsitsipas' team broke during the Greek's title defense in the Montecarlo Masters. The sixth seed had a bye in the second round, going through the match against Jordan Thompson and Nuno Borges to advance to the quarterfinals, where he will play 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti on April 11, 2025.

The victor of this encounter will then play against either 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov or eighth seed Alex de Minaur in the semifinals. In doubles, though, Tsitsipas and his brother Petros fell 1-6, 6-7(5) to seventh seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash in the Round of 16.

For much of his playing career, Tsitsipas was coached by his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas. However, their relationship reached its breaking point in August 2024 when Stefanos asked his father to vacate his player box during a match at the Canadian Open, ultimately causing Apostolos to resign as head coach.

Ever since, Greece's Davis Cup captain Dimitris Chatzinikolaou has taken up the coaching job. Kerei Abakar of the Mouratoglou Academy has also been with Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo and will be with him through the duration of the clay swing.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas explained what led to his coaching split with father Apostolos

In Picture: Stefanos Tsitsipas during the 2024 Laver Cup (Source: Getty)

Earlier this year, Stefanos Tsitsipas openly shared his relationship with his father and ex-coach, Apostolos. In a Tennis Insiders Club podcast by fellow player Caroline Garcia, he shared his thoughts on their coaching breakup.

"I think a lot of things changed outside of my tennis which affected my tennis. That's how I've been reflecting on that change with my father who was there with me from the beginning. We obviously had tensions, I think that's normal. I wouldn't think otherwise," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.

Tsitsipas recognized the large impact his father had on his career, thanking him for guiding his progress and instructing him on how to get through life as a professional tennis player.