"I owe a lot to him" - Stefanos Tsitsipas makes feelings clear about complex relationship with father after removing him as coach

Stefanos Tsitsipas chatted with the media on Saturday, January 11, ahead of the 2025 Australian Open. During the conversation, he talked about his father and former coach Apostolos.

Tsitsipas stopped receiving tennis training formally from his father in August last year after a shocking loss to Kei Nishikori in his first match at the Montreal Masters.

While answering a question from Sportskeeda in the press room at Melbourne Park on Saturday, Tsitsipas extended his gratitude to Apostolos for contributing to his tennis career.

"I couldn't have asked anything more from my father," the World No. 11 said. "He's been an exceptional coach, in my opinion. He's more than maxed out what he was capable of maxing out as a coach. I'm really grateful to him. I think he's a great human being. For the sacrifices he's done more than a decade, I wouldn't say the last few years, it's more than a decade, it's been his entire life, he's been through a lot of stress."

"These were the years I had to show my true potential and he supported it. I do believe up to this day he's one of the best coaches in the world. We still have a great relationship. It's just that he had to step back and allow me to discover my own path as an adult that I've been growing to be in the last few years."

Stefanos Tsitsipas then revealed his father helped him from the sidelines during the pre-season:

"That's about it. He's still my father. He's still someone that comes to the court occasionally from time to time to give me some tips. He was with me in the Middle East recently. He attended a few practice. I still consider him an important figure in my professional life but also my private life. We have an incredible relationship. I owe a lot to him."

This was notably the second time the Greek parted ways with his father. He separated from Apostolos in 2023 and hired former Australian player Mark Philippoussis but didn't continue with the Aussie for more than two months, returning to his father.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas: "Coming from a very small country with no tradition in tennis, I am really proud of how my father carried himself"

Stefanos Tsitsipas (Getty)

In response to the same question during the 2025 Australian Open pre-tournament press conference, Stefanos Tsitsipas commended his father Apostolos for training him in a country like Greece with no real history in tennis.

"Coming from a very small country, Greece, with no background, no tradition in tennis, I am really proud of him in terms of how he carried himself and how he responded to those situations which were crucial for my tennis development," the 26-year-old said.

"I really want to go back to those moments because these were the ones that actually shaped me as a player."

Tsitsipas' previous Australian Open campaign ended in a fourth-round loss to Taylor Fritz from the US. Interestingly, he will start his 2025 run against another American, Alex Michelsen in the first round.