"If Stefanos Tsitsipas wants to get to the ultimate level, he has to step out of comfort zone" - Fans react as Greek's father returns to coaching team

Fans have not taken kindly to Stefanos Tsitsipas announcing that his father, Apostolos, has returned to his coaching team.

Tsitsipas has gone back and forth with his coaching team this season. He began the year with Mark Philippoussis as his coach, a partnership that started in February 2020. It was a successful relationship as the World No. 6 reached two Grand Slam finals: the 2021 French Open and this year’s Australian Open.

During this period, he also won his first grasscourt title at the 2022 Mallorca Championships. However, in May this year, Philippoussis announced that he split with Tsitsipas.

Not long after that, Tsitsipas rehired Philippoussis as his coach and explained his decision stating that he felt more "calm" and tranquil" following the return of his former coach to his coaching team.

In another U-turn, the two parted ways not long ago and the Greek player recently announced that his father was rejoining his coaching team.

Tennis fans have been left confused by the constant chopping and changing to his coaching team, with many questioning his latest move. One fan noted that Tsitsipas will not achieve greater success unless he stepped out of his comfort zone.

"I get that it's a total comfort zone (and it's real hard to fire your dad), but he kind of hit a plateau a couple of years ago. And if he's not satisfied with that and wants to get to the ultimate level, he has to step out of that comfort zone. If he is, well, then, carry on," a fan said.

"This… is bad," said another fan.

Here are some more fan reactions:

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Stefanos Tsitsipas to compete at Shanghai Masters next

Stefanos Tsitsipas in action at the 2023 US Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas made a bright start to his 2023 season, finishing as the runner-up (lost to Novak Djokovic) at the Australian Open. However, things have not gone well for him since.

He struggled at a slew of tournaments before making a run to the final at the Barcelona Open, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. The rest of the clay swing was decent if not spectacular, with quarterfinal finishes at the Madrid Open and the French Open sandwiching a semifinal exit at the Italian Open.

Since then, however, it has been a bleak run for Tsitsipas, who has not gone past the pre-quarterfinals at any tournament — with the notable exception being his title win at the Los Cabos Open.

The 25-year-old has failed to string together consecutive singles wins since the Los Cabos in August. He will be hoping to break the slump at the Shanghai Masters, where he will begin his singles campaign on Saturday, October 7.

He will also be in action in the men's doubles, where is partnering with Robin Haase and is scheduled to face the American pair of Jackson Withrow and Nathaniel Lammons in the opening round on Friday.