Tsitsipas’ mother explains background to explosive dispute

Since the summer, tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has been playing without his father and coach Apostolos. Now his mother has explained further reasons behind the dispute between the two.

In recent months, Stefanos Tsitsipas has made headlines mainly because of his argument with his father Apostolos. The separation followed shortly afterwards. The Greek threw his own father out as coach.

Mother Julia Salnikova spoke about the explosive situation in an interview.

“They always had a lot of conflicts. We don’t see it as a tragedy, we are a very close family. Apostolos didn’t realise that he was putting too much pressure on Stefanos, he only had tennis on his mind,” she told Greek broadcaster ANT1.

“Although he loves his father very much, he has understood that he needs to find another coach,” Salnikova continued.

They also suggested that things off the court had an impact on his performance.

“There were things in Stefanos’ life that distracted him, but also made him happy.” In recent months, Tsitsipas had to deal with a temporary break-up with tennis colleague Paula Badosa. They are now back together.

Dispute openly fought

The family dispute was preceded by differences of opinion between father and son, which were openly played out at the ATP Masters in Montreal.

During the match against the Japanese Kei Nishikori (4:6, 4:6) there was an argument between the two. After the defeat, Tsitsipas, formerly number three in the world rankings, complained that his father was not listening to him and was not giving him the right motivation and input.

In a post on Instagram, the tennis pro subsequently wrote: “I prefer to keep my father in his role as a father, and only as a father.”

After his early exit from the US Open, the tennis professional surprised everyone with honest words about his sporting condition.

“I’m nothing compared to the player I used to be. I remember how I played when I was younger, how I was on the court with adrenaline and feeling like my life depended on the game. And I feel like those things have diminished and let’s just say my consistency is not as great anymore,” Tsitsipas said after the party.