'Water is much calmer': Stefanos Tsitsipas reflects on 'thunderous' last weeks after Goran Ivanisevic split

Stefanos Tsitsipas recently addressed his current situation after Goran Ivanisevic's departure from his team, following a short two-month association that ended with crossed words and criticism between the two. A couple of months ago, Tsitsipas announced he was adding Novak Djokovic's former coach to his team in an effort to return to the top of the rankings and fight for major titles again.

It hasn't been an easy last year for the former world No. 3. A year ago, he fell out of the top 10 for the first time in 5 years, and things didn't improve in 2025, where he only managed one win in three Grand Slam tournaments and eventually dropped to world No. 29, out of the top 15 for the first time in 7 years.

The split with Ivanisevic

Just weeks after he started working with Ivanisevic, the Croatian coach was asked about his initial time working with Tsitsipas and launched strong criticism at the Greek. "I have never seen a more unprepared player in my life," Ivanisevic said. "With this knee, I am three times more fit than him. He wants, but he doesn't do anything."

"It's simple and it's not easy," the Croatian told Sport Klub. "I've talked to him many times. If he solves some things outside of tennis, then he has a chance and he'll return to where he belongs, because he's too good a player to be out of the top 10."

The comments did not sit well with Tsitsipas, who a few days later responded to Ivanisevic in an interview with SDNA. "When I work with the right people, with people that I choose and make me feel comfortable, there is a mood," the former ATP Finals champion said. "It is very difficult to have dictators and people who speak negatively and you don't feel like they are close to you like family," he added regarding Ivanisevic.

"Water is much calmer": Stefanos Tsitsipas reflects on recovery

Tsitsipas is preparing for his first tournament after his first-round exit at Wimbledon, where he retired from his match against Valentin Royer while down 3-6, 2-6 due to an injury. The Greek is preparing for the Canadian Open, where he entered as the first seed and awaits the winner between Christopher O’Connell and Chun Hsin Tseng

Upon his arrival in Toronto, Tsitsipas stated that he feels more confident after the changes of the last few weeks, though without directly mentioning Ivanisevic. "We’ve been through a lot this last couple of weeks and taking some time off the court helped me a lot," he said. "I was able to reflect on a lot of things, work on my body, see specialists, doctors, people that actually help me." "I can say I'm feeling much, much better. I wouldn't imagine that three weeks ago I would be in a position that I'm now, because I was in a really bad state, physically mainly I would say."

“I’ve been sort of dealing with it every single day, and there have been a lot of changes, despite not all of them being public, known to anyone outside of my circle," added the two-time Grand Slam finalist. "I feel like it has definitely been a thunder every single day trying to battle that, and also battle with all kinds of emotions, decisions that I've been trying to make as an adult that I'm turning into, the last couple of years."

"I can finally say that the water is much calmer, and much more predictable in the direction I'm trying to get to," he said. "I'm very happy that I'm finding my way through it and despite that I have to make, and we all know that we’ll have to make mistakes. I accept my mistakes and I want to move on as a more wise person, towards a future."