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Goran Ivanisevic doesn’t hold back in criticism of Stefanos Tsitsipas: ‘I’ve never seen such…’

Originally posted on HITC | By Cameron Greenlees | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 1:30 PM ET

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Wimbledon campaign ended abruptly in the first round after he pulled out against Valentin Royer, trailing two sets to none with a back injury.

Despite the early exit, Tsitsipas described his relationship with coach Goran Ivanisevic as ‘great’ when asked after the match. But Ivanisevic offered a blunt assessment of the world number 26’s situation following the grass court season.

Goran Ivanisevic says he was left shocked by how underprepared Stefanos Tsitsipas was at Wimbledon

Speaking to Sport Klub, Ivanisevic’s assessment was blunt: “It’s a really simple situation. It’s simple and it’s not. I’ve talked to him many times.

“If he solves some things outside of tennis then he has a chance of being back where he belongs because he’s too good a player to be out of the top 10.

“If not, then he has no chance. My duty is to fix some technical things on the court, that’s the easiest thing. This other stuff he has to fix on his own. If he does it, I sincerely hope he does, whether I am here or not.”

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Ivanisevic was then asked: “Does he want to?” He replied: “That’s a good question. He does want it, but he isn’t doing anything about it.

“It’s all ‘I want it, I want it’ but he isn’t doing anything about it. He has to resolve his back issue. I was shocked. I’ve never seen such an underprepared player in my life. Me with this bad knee, I was three times readier. I don’t know what he was doing this year, but it was bad.”