Ever since he turned pro in 2016, Stefanos Tsitsipas has become a regular in the top ten of the ATP rankings. The Greek tennis star is yet to win his first Grand Slam title, but he impressed many fans with his semifinal run at this year’s French Open where he lost to Novak Djokovic. Tsitsipas is the reigning ATP Finals champion, and he will defend his title in London in November. Ahead of the tournament, the 22-year-old has admitted that his family’s support has been a huge reason for his success.
Tsitsipas’ father and mother
Tsitsipas has credited his father, Apostolos, and his mother, Julia Salnikova for encouraging him to take up tennis. Julia is a former tennis player, and she met her husband when he was officiating a WTA tournament. Even though she is not an official member of her son’s coaching staff, Julia always offers her opinion about her son’s game whenever she gets a chance at a media interview or on the tennis court. On his part, Apostolos has coached Tsitsipas ever since he was 12-years old. The experienced coach specialized in tennis for his sports science major at the University of Athens. However, Apostolos did not play tennis in his youth. Instead, he played football and even had a brief stint with the Greece national team.
Tsitsipas brothers and sister
Apostolos has always had a strong bond with his son. The decorated tennis coach saved Tsitsipas from drowning in 2015 after the tennis star misjudged the strength of the ocean current during a trip to the beach. Tsitsipas has admitted that the incident changed his life and gave him a deeper appreciation for his father. The 22-year-old has three younger siblings, two brothers, Petros, Pavlos, and the youngest member of his family, his sister, Elisavet. All three are currently playing tennis in the junior ranks, and they could follow Tsitsipas’ example by rising to the top of the tennis game.
It will be interesting to see how the Greek star performs at the upcoming ATP Finals. Tsitsipas took a brief vacation after he suffered a leg injury during the French Open. The 22-year-old made a return to the court at the Vienna Open, but he lost in the round of 16 to Grigor Dimitrov. Tsitsipas’ poor form continued at the Paris Masters where he lost in the opening round to Ugo Humbert. Nevertheless, Tsitsipas is expected to put up a fight while defending his title at the ATP Finals. He will have to improve his play if he hopes to navigate a tough group that includes Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, and Andrey Rublev. The competition will be held at the London O2 arena from 15th-22nd November.
My family is my life, and everything else comes second as far as what’s important to me. pic.twitter.com/9oVvVBYIwO
— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) June 4, 2018
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2020
Ranked no.6, the Greek played his last match on the 3rd of November when he lost to Ugo Humbert 7-64 6-76 7-63 in the 2nd round in Paris.
Currently, this season Tsitsipas has a composed 26-12 match record. Stefanos has won 1 title in Marseille. Tsitsipas was the runner-up in Dubai and in Hamburg.
