"I want to give Stefanos Tsitsipas a hug"; "This proves the point"- Fans in disbelief over Greek's father Apostolos' response to "narcissism" critique

Tennis fans have criticized Stefanos Tsitsipas' father, Apostolos, for seemingly twisting the Greek's feelings about his parents. Recently, Tsitsipas shared a cryptic message that seemed to imply that the Greek was referring to his parents as 'narcissistic'.

Tsitsipas, a former World No. 3 and two-time Grand Slam finalist, experienced a drastic dip in form last year, despite having made the final of the 2023 Australian Open. However, the Greek enjoyed a brief resurgence during the 2024 claycourt season, winning the Monte-Carlo Masters and then finishing as the runner-up at the Barcelona Open. His form though, eventually deteriorated once again.

A major flashpoint during Tsitsipas' 2024 season came at the National Bank Open in Montreal, where he lashed out at his father, Apostolos, on the court and later blamed him for his on-court troubles. At the time, Apostolos was serving as Tsitsipas' coach. Not long after, the Greek announced that his father would no longer coach him.

Recently, Tsitsipas took to Instagram and shared a montage of photos and videos, summing up his experiences in 2024. The last video featured a narration that talked about children of narcissistic parents growing up with a flawed understanding of love.

Unsurprisingly, this particular video stirred speculation, with fans wondering if Tsitsipas wanted to share deeper insights into his parents' personalities through the video. Later, his father Apostolos appeared as a guest on MEGA's show "You Haven't Seen Anything Yet", and downplayed Tsitsipas' cryptic post.

Apostolos went as far as to suggest that through the post, the former World No. 3 intended to state that parents "have a pathological love for their children".

"The post is not his own; someone else made it. This post, from what I saw, is on YouTube. He borrowed it from YouTube and posted it, he made a repost, that’s what it’s called. Everyone makes reposts. What does that mean? Stefanos is simply saying that parents very much love, deeply love their children; they have a pathological love for their children, that’s what he means," Apostolos said.

Tsitsipas' father's statement later made its way to Reddit, where fans voiced their opinions on it.

"The post is not his own; someone else made it. This post, from what I saw, is on YouTube. He borrowed it from YouTube and posted it, he made a repost, that’s what it’s called. Everyone makes reposts, what does that mean? Stefanos is simply saying parents very much love, deeply love their children" byu/Orangutan intennis

Most fans were angry with what Apostolos had to say.

"I want to give Stef a hug," a fan wrote, empathizing with Tsitsipas.

"This response proves the point if anyone needed more proof," commented another.

"In shocking news a narcissistic parent makes their child’s post all about themselves and explains how being a narcissistic parent is a good thing …," another chimed in sarcastically.

"There’s no way he believes that, what’s even the point of responding to the comment," one fan wondered.

"He borrowed it from YouTube” is such a parent thing to say," another weighed in.

"So in addition to being narcissistic, Apostolos is also delusional. Julia, as well, if she thinks he doesn’t speak to her because he’s introverted. Stef is annoying sometimes but I admire the way he conducted himself at the press conference she crashed. He defended himself but remained respectful when she wouldn’t let up," opined one fan.

In September this year, Stefanos Tsitsipas' mother Julia laid bare the tensions that had developed between the two-time Major finalist and his father over the years that they had worked together as player and coach.

---

"Stefanos Tsitsipas and Apostolos did not have a good relationship since..." - Greek's mother Julia on origin of tensions in father-son relationship

Stefanos Tsitsipas (center) with mother Julia Apostoli (left) and father Apostolos Tsitsipas (right) (Source: Getty)

In an interview dated September 2024, Julia Apostoli, Stefanos Tsitsipas' mother, revisited the start of the deterioration of the relationship between the Greek and his father Apostolos. According to Apostoli, things began to take a negative turn in the aftermath of the 2020 US Open, where he inexplicably squandered six match points and ended up losing to Borna Coric in the third round.

"Since 2020, when he lost at the US Open, we said with Apostolos that Stefanos should change his coach. But four years passed and Stefanos was bringing good results. However, I think that Stefanos and Apostolos did not have a good relationship since then, they had constant conflicts. And that's why Stefanos made the decision to change his coach," Julia Apostoli told ProtoThema.

Stefanos Tsitsipas ended the 2024 season as the World No. 11. The Greek's year ended with a whimper at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he was an alternate but did not get an opportunity to play.