Stefanos Tsitsipas recently talked about the financial challenges that his father and coach, Apostolos Tsitsipas, had to deal with when he was growing up.
Tsitsipas entered the professional tennis ranks in 2016 and surged to become a consistent top-10 performer. With two major final appearances and ten ATP titles, the Greek has all but completely elevated his nation’s tennis profile.
Although Tsitsipas’s career path indicates that he was destined for greatness, there were setbacks in his tennis career. Tsitsipas said in a recent interview that his father, Apostolos, struggled to finance his early career.
Tsitsipas stated that to concentrate on his tennis career, his father left his full-time job during the height of the Greek economic crisis. The local banks refused to let him take out the cash required for his son’s training because the nation was at that time in danger of going into sovereign default.
Tsitsipas expressed his thoughts in a recent interview and said: “That shows his character because it was one of the worst moments in Greek history. I went through a lot of hardships. Tennis is expensive and my father was struggling. The banks wouldn’t let him withdraw X amount of money each day so it was very stressful for him.”
Tsitsipas continued by saying he felt obligated to live up to his father’s expectations. However, he overcame his fear of failing because he had been driven to excel since he was a young child.
He added: “As a kid, I felt it, but I had so much belief in my skills that I was determined to make it, to give my parents a better life.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2024
Currently the world no.7, the Greek played his last match on the 5th of January when he lost to world no.6 Alexander Zverev 6-4 6-4 in the quarter in Australia (draw).
Currently, during this year Tsitsipas has a composed 1-1 record.
Tsitsipas is scheduled to compete next at the Australian Open (Australian Open). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 14th of January.
Stefanos Tsitsipas |
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