Apostolos Tsitsipas

Apostolos Tsitsipas (born 24 December 1967)[1] is a Greek tennis coach. He is the father and longtime coach of Stefanos Tsitsipas, who achieved a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking of No. 3 on 9 August 2021. He is the husband of tennis player Julia Apostoli.

Apostolos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas in 2023
Country (sports) Greece
Born (1967-12-24) 24 December 1967
Proastio, Karditsa, Greece
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Coaching career
Stefanos Tsitsipas (about 2001–)
Coaching achievements
Coachee singles titles total9
List of notable tournaments
(with champion)

2019 ATP Finals (Stefanos Tsitsipas)

Career

Tsitsipas grew up in the village of Proastio in Thessaly.[2] In his youth, he primarily played football and basketball, but he and his brother sometimes "goofed around" playing tennis with wooden rackets on a makeshift grass court. Though briefly a member of the Greece national team, he decided to pursue tennis seriously at age 20 while studying sport science at the University of Athens. He played in his first tournament at age 23, but never at a high enough level to earn an ATP ranking point.[3]

Tsitsipas married the tennis player Julia Salnikova in 1991 after meeting her while working as a line judge at a Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tournament in Athens.[4][5] He traveled with her on tour, then studied tennis coaching in Vienna and Berlin for several years, before moving back to Athens to work as a tennis instructor.[3] He and Julia trained Stefanos, their first child, from the age of three.[3] As Stefanos began to find success as a junior, Tsitsipas left a high school teaching position to travel with his son full-time from age 11 or 12.[3][6][7] He played occasionally on the ITF Seniors Tour from 2003 to 2010, achieving a peak ranking of No. 310 in 2006.[8] He served as the captain of the Greek contingent at the ATP Cup (2020–2022).[9]

As of 2023, Tsitsipas remains Stefanos's primary coach. He has often made his presence felt during matches.[10][11] Before the ATP trialled coaching during matches in mid-2022, he often incurred Stefanos code violations by offering advice—reportedly against his son's wishes—aloud from the player's box.[11][12][13][14] In the 2022 Australian Open semifinals, Tsitsipas's coaching spurred Daniil Medvedev to exclaim to the umpire, "His father can talk every point?", and prompted officials to place Greek umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore near the player's box to overhear his chatter, leading to a fine.[11][15][16] Tennis commentator Jim Courier suggested after a Stefanos Tsitsipas loss in November 2022 that his father's coaching style during matches "[is] hurting him more than it's helping".[11]

Personal life

All four children of Tsitsipas and Salnikova have played competitive tennis: Stefanos (born 1998), Petros (born 2000), Pavlos (born 2005), and Elisavet (born 2008).[17]

References
  1. "Apostolos Tsitsipas". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  2. "Tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas ode to his wonderful dad, Apostolos". Neos Kosmos. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  3. Braden, Jonathon (3 April 2020). "Apostolos Tsitsipas: The Accidental Tennis Coach". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  4. Baudu, Jérémy (29 January 2023). "Roland-Garros, Greece, coach: Everything you always wanted to know about Stefanos Tsitsipas (but never had time to find out) – updated after Australian Open final run". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  5. Μπάκουλη, Νίκη. "Ο Στέφανος Τσιτσιπάς θα σε κάνει να παίξεις τένις". Sport24 (in Greek). Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  6. "The Moment Apostolos Tsitsipas Knew Stefanos Was A Special Player". Association of Tennis Professionals. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  7. Rothenberg, Ben (28 May 2018). "Stefanos Tsitsipas Balances His Greek and Russian Sides to Rise in Tennis". New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  8. "Apostolos Tsitsipas Tennis Player". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  9. "Tsitsipas: 'We Are Just Hungrier Than Anyone Else'". Association of Tennis Professionals. 30 December 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  10. Futterman, Matthew (26 January 2023). "In Tennis, the 'Nepo Babies' Are Everywhere". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  11. Livaudais, Stephanie (19 November 2022). "Tsitsipas family drama spills over during Stefanos defeat to Rublev in Turin". Tennis.com. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  12. Sanford, Jordan (19 July 2021). "'I'll get you coaching': Tsitsipas reacts to Kyrgios' disagreement on coaching regulations". Tennis.com. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  13. Ganguly, Sudipto (28 January 2022). "Stefanos Tsitsipas feels unfairly targeted over on-court coaching criticism". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  14. Tennery, Amy (26 August 2022). "Tsitsipas says off-court coaching will end unfair violations". Reuters. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  15. Laughton, Max (29 January 2022). "Medvedev back in Aus Open final even after meltdown as Greek God 'capitulates'". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  16. Walsh, Courtney (29 January 2022). "Medvedev, Tsitsipas both fined after high-octane semi-final". Reuters. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  17. Rush, Curtis (13 August 2018). "With the 'Week of His Life,' Stefanos Tsitsipas Bursts Into Tennis' Elite". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
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