'Tennis isolate you as a person': Stefanos Tsitsipas reveals dark side of life as professional player

Stefanos Tsitsipas was once regarded as the next big thing. He came close to winning the Grand Slam titles twice, in 2021 and 2023, but on both occasions, he fell short of the finish line. On both occasions, he lost the final to Novak Djokovic.

Since his last defeat in the final of the Australian Open more than two years back, Tsitsipas has not looked the same player. The 26-year-old has witnessed rankings drop from number three in the world to number 26, mainly because of inconsistent performances.

Tsitsipas has recently spoken to The Tennis Channel, where he explained the difficulties faced by professional tennis players in their careers. The Athens-born player shared an example from his past, revealing that he used to confine himself to his room for months after matches and practice sessions.

“Tennis tends to isolate you as a person,” said Tsitsipas. “I can say that with confidence because I was a person that used to isolate a lot before I meet Paula. I remember a period that I would play the clay-court swing. I would literally do Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros, the entire two months of the clay-court swing, I will be stuck in my room after the matches or the practice sessions and do room service. There wasn’t a single time that I went out. Even my mother and father at some time, they were like: “Steph, I think you need to may be go for a walk or do something outing the tennis court." But I was so much stuck in my own ideas that I want to do it that way because actually brings comfort to me and I feel good kind of staying in my room and maybe you know listening to music or doing my other stuff that I like to do on my free time. I went through that phase quite a while. I think the isolation of tennis made me feel very comfortable but at the same time, I felt like it was not really the thing that I was looking for deep inside. I am much more social than I tend to show people. People probably see me as an introvert person. I have introverted traces of my personality that I happily sort of accept. But I am a much more social person than that.

Tsitsipas also went on to explain how his girlfriend Paula Badosa has helped him explore his personality in a ‘different way’. “I also believed that being with Paula in the last couple of years has allowed me to explore myself in a different way,” he added. “I am much more outgoing [now], I feel less alone when I am on the tennis court and that has translated into the way I express myself when I pray. I feel like there is much more support generally speaking in my everyday life.”