Hall of Famer Jim Courier opined on Stefanos Tsitsipas’ coach Goran Ivanisevic’s critical comments about the Greek player after his Wimbledon loss. Courier shared that he didn’t believe a coach could be that brutal to his mentee.
Stefanos Tsitsipas began the 2025 Grand Slam season with a first-round loss at the Australian Open, succumbing to Alex Michelsen in three sets. His French Open run was also cut short after losing to Matteo Gigante in the second round, and he faced a similar fate in Wimbledon, exiting the tournament in the first round.
The Greek player’s setback drew critical remarks from his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, who joined Tsitsipas’ team in May 2025. The latter brutally stated that he had never seen a player so unreversed, and also compared Tsitsipas’ physical condition to his own.
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Surprised by the English interpretation of his Croatian statements, Hall of Famer and former World No. 1 Jim Courier revealed that he first thought it to be a 'spoof'. He admitted that Goran has an unabashed approach, and also wondered how the 2001 wild-card Wimbledon champion compared his knee health with Stefanos Tsitsipas' back issues.
"I honestly have asked multiple times, is that a spoof? Because, you know, you just don't hear a coach talking about it. As much of a truth teller as Goran is, you know, you expect coaches probably to be a little bit more cagey with those comments than perhaps that. Once you dig a little deeper into the comments, that's a really interesting pull quote, right?"
He added:
"But he's really talking about the physical state and the fact that his back has been such a problem and he hasn't been to solve it. He was saying, Goran was saying he's in better shape physically. Goran said, my knee's bad, but I'm still better than he is with his back. So I think I would love to hear that. I don't speak Croatian. I would love to kind of hear the tone that he used because I think a lot of that probably would also tell us what he was really trying to tell. I thought it was a joke." (beginning 0:48)
Stefanos Tsitsipas made it to the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas shared that he would spend time with Novak Djokovic after the latter's relocation to Greece
Stefanos Tsitsipas was fresh off a Round of 16 exit from the Terra Wortmann Open when he entered the third Grand Slam of the year. In a press conference ahead of his stint, he talked about Djokovic's potential relocation to his home country and what it would mean to him.
"He (Djokovic) told me he'll talk to me if he needs anything. He's a very good person, I have a good friendship with him. I respect him as an athlete and as a person. I wish I could see him stay in Greece in the future, I would like to spend time with him."
Stefanos Tsitsipas peaked at No. 3 in the world rankings in 2021, becoming the highest-ranked Greek in tennis history.
