Goran Ivanisevic Sounds Alarm Over Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Game: ‘Mental Unpreparedness’

Last Updated:March 30, 2026, 07:40 IST

Goran Ivanisevic says that he saw Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mental and physical unpreparedness by day two of training.

Stefanos Tsitsipas hasn’t won a title in the past year (Picture credit: AFP)

Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic has said that he knew within the second day of his training with Stefanos Tsitsipas that the latter was mentally unprepared and he couldn’t play at his best.

Ivanisevic, a former ATP star who later found major success in coaching, most notably helping Novak Djokovic win 12 of his 24 Grand Slam titles, couldn’t achieve similar results with Tsitsipas, with their partnership ending on a sour note after Ivanisevic criticised the Greek.

Ivanisevic took over as coach of Tsitsipas in late May last year, at a time when the Greek was battling fitness concerns and a dip in form, with expectations high that Ivanisevic’s experience would help revive his fortunes.

But things didn’t go as planned. After Tsitsipas was forced to retire in the first round at Wimbledon Championships, Ivanisevic criticised him in an interview. The partnership soon ended, with Tsitsipas bringing back his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas, as his full-time coach.

In a recent interview with Sports clubIvanisevic reflected on his stint with Tsitsipas, who had reached two Grand Slam finals at his peak, stating that the latter wasn’t prepared to compete at the highest level, both physically and mentally.

“Well, I knew that after the second day of our training. When he came to Zagreb to try out the rackets, I knew that none of that would happen. I mean, at the end of the day, I did not say anything bad,” Ivanisevic said.

“Everything I said was true and it came true. I told him nicely after Wimbledon to take four months off because it isn’t just physical unpreparedness, but mental unpreparedness as well,” Ivanisevic added.

In the same interview, Ivanisevic lauded Tsitsipas for his natural talent, but pointed to his own career to underline how success in modern tennis demands greater mental toughness and resilience.

“He is still a phenomenal tennis player; he was and still is, but those are the little things. In today’s tennis, you cannot play if you aren’t mentally prepared. I had those problems as a tennis player too,” Ivanisevic said.

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