Stefanos Tsitsipas has made a big change to his coaching set-up as his father Apostolos Tsitsipas will no longer be his head coach as the veteran Greek has been given a “break” by his son.
Instead, two-time Grand Slam finalist Mark Philippoussis has rejoined the team and the Australian will now be in charge of the coaching duties.
The move comes nearly three months after Philippoussis announced on Instagram that he had split from Tsitsipas having initially joined the set-up during the latter half of the 2022 season.
It means that for the first time in his professional career, Stefanos Tsitsipas won’t be coached by his father as Apostolos has been the man in charge since he was 12 years old.
The world No 4 explained the reason behind the decision.
“My father right now, I gave him some time off. He hasn’t had time off since I was 12 years old,” he said. “I think for him, it’s very healthy to take some time away from the court and feel refreshed again.
“Parents can get emotional sometimes, and I completely understand that. I’m not a parent myself, but I can imagine how difficult it can be at times seeing your child give it their all and to be going through so much during a match.
“I love him and I want him to be part of that journey that we have built together, and he’s not going anywhere. He’s still with us, and he’s still there following our path and journey.”
Tsitsipas won the 10th title of his career over the weekend as he defeated Alex de Minaur in the Los Cabos Open final. Next he will be in action at the Canadian Open on Wednesday as he will take on Gael Monfils in the second round.
The 24-year-old feels the addition of Philippoussis is a move in the right direction.
“It’s time to keep exploring new things,” the Greek said. “And I’m open-minded and I want to learn as much as I can to maximise on my career because I have felt at times stagnant.
“Mark is a parent himself. He’s not my father, but he’s been through a lot of moments in his own personal career that he can identify and capture better in certain ways. He is an incredible human being. He has helped me a lot. He has been there for me. Even when people didn’t see him around, he has been there behind closed doors in private. And he’s a big addition to our team.”
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