Five years ago, Stefanos Tsitsipas stood on the brink of his first Grand Slam title, leading Novak Djokovic by two sets in the 2021 Roland Garros final. In early 2023, he reached the Australian Open final and appeared ready to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner for the sport’s biggest trophies. Today, however, Tsitsipas finds himself outside the top 30, without a single top-20 win in the past year and without a run past the second round at any major. The question is no longer whether he will win a Grand Slam, but what derailed a career once filled with promise.
A lingering back injury that changed everything
Tsitsipas began the 2024 season with optimism, switching racquets and winning the Dubai title—his first ATP 500 trophy. But the momentum collapsed quickly. His clay season never took off, and the turning point came at Wimbledon, where he retired in the first round against Valentin Royer due to severe back pain.
The injury was not new. Tsitsipas first experienced major issues in late 2023, when he retired after only 14 minutes during the ATP Finals. He later revealed that he had endured “one or two weeks of intense pain” and struggled even to get out of bed. Despite some recovery during the off-season, the issue resurfaced in 2024.
Though details remain unclear, signs point to a stress-related injury in the lower back. He admitted to battling discomfort throughout summer events—Toronto, Cincinnati, Winston-Salem—before the pain sharply intensified during the US Open. After his September Davis Cup appearance, Tsitsipas reportedly received an epidural injection to manage nerve pain, yet it did little to restore his form. Apart from an exhibition appearance, his season ended prematurely.
The coaching crisis and an identity problem
For years, Tsitsipas’s father Apostolos has been his primary coach, guiding him from childhood through his early breakthroughs. But tension grew as results stagnated from 2021 onward. The pair often clashed during matches, and Tsitsipas finally attempted to make a change in 2023.
After a disappointing loss to Kei Nishikori in Montreal, Tsitsipas publicly criticized his father and dismissed him as coach. That moment appeared to signal a new direction. For a short period, he worked with former childhood coach Dimitrios Chatzinikolaou, before adding Goran Ivanisevic—known for his success as Novak Djokovic’s coach—in early 2024.
At first, Ivanisevic expressed confidence in Tsitsipas’s potential, describing him as “a player with top-five capabilities.” But within weeks, his tone shifted dramatically. Ivanisevic publicly questioned Tsitsipas’s professionalism and physical preparation, calling him “the least prepared player I have ever seen” and stressing that off-court issues overshadowed his tennis.
Two months into the partnership, Tsitsipas ended the collaboration and returned to his father. He later hinted that working with Ivanisevic felt like dealing with a “dictator” rather than a supportive mentor. But the move back to Apostolos raised concerns about whether Tsitsipas is truly able—or willing—to pursue long-term structural changes in his career. The pattern suggests a deeper issue: a player unsure of what he wants, and reluctant to commit to a difficult but necessary reset.
Distractions, relationships, and loss of focus
Another part of the story involves Tsitsipas’s highly public relationship with Paula Badosa. Over two years, they became one of tennis’s most visible couples, with joint social media accounts, magazine features, and public declarations. Their relationship featured pauses, reconciliations, and prominent emotional episodes—far from the stability elite athletes usually require.
Tsitsipas openly admitted that tennis results mattered less to him than his relationship: “It doesn’t matter if I win titles. I know I have found my woman.” While romantic, the statement echoed a shift in priorities at odds with professional high performance.
Ivanisevic also hinted multiple times at unresolved off-court issues affecting Tsitsipas’s work ethic. The timing of these comments coincided with the couple’s eventual breakup during Wimbledon.
A player searching for meaning
Tsitsipas’s social media channels paint a picture of a player immersed in self-reflection. His posts speak about embracing failure, finding inner strength, and staying on a journey of self-growth. While inspirational, they also reflect a mindset drifting away from competitive urgency.
Today, the biggest concern is not that Tsitsipas has fallen—it’s that he may no longer know what direction he wants to climb. Without clarity, consistency, and a firm professional structure, his return to the top appears uncertain.
Whether Roland Garros 2026 marks the beginning of a comeback or another chapter in a long decline depends on whether Tsitsipas can rediscover the ambition that once made him a Grand Slam threat.
