“If he has a problem with me, he should call me” Goran Ivanisevic fires back at Patrick Mouratoglou in Stefanos Tsitsipas feud

Former Wimbledon champion and famous tennis coach Goran Ivanisevic has hit back at Patrick Mouratoglou for criticising him about his comments regarding Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. Ivanisevic started working with Tsitsipas earlier this year, but things have remained far from perfect.

Tsitsipas suffered a first-round exit from Wimbledon 2025 because of fitness concerns against France’s Valentin Royer. It was Tsitsipas' 12th defeat in just 31 matches this year. Following the result, Ivanisevic, while speaking to Serbian media outlet Sport Klub, criticised Tsitsipas' work ethic. Ivanisevic went as far as saying that he has never seen a more underprepared player than Tsitsipas.

“It’s both simple and not simple,” said Ivanisevic. “I’ve spoken to him several times. If he resolves certain off-court issues, he’ll have a chance to return to where he belongs, because he’s too good to be outside the top 10. He says he wants to (return to the top level), but he’s not doing anything. It’s always "I want, I want," but I don’t see any progress. I was shocked; I’ve never seen a more unprepared player in my life. With this knee, I’m three times fitter than him. It’s really bad.”

Those comments did not go down well with Mouratoglou, who criticised Ivanisevic for making such comments about a player with whom he is currently working with. Mouratoglou, in a video released on his Instagram account, said that Ivanisevic saying all those things about Tsitsipas does not feel right, as he would have been aware of the player's pros and cons before accepting the coaching role. Mouratoglou stated that for him, coaching is about understanding and dealing with different personalities and that it is not about throwing a player under the bus.

"My concept of coaching has nothing to do with that suggested by Goran Ivanisevic,” said Mouratoglou. “If Goran accepts the job, it's probably because he's aware that Stefanos is not doing things right or that changes are needed. Stefanos goes through a difficult time. The results are not there, and pointing fingers does not help. Above all, this is not coaching because coaching is not about judging but quite the opposite. It's about understanding behaviors and trying to help the person by being there in the same boat. I feel like Goran is ashamed of the results and wants to distance himself from Stefanos, blaming the player alone. That's the opposite of how I understand coaching. You can discuss your player publicly, but not by throwing him to the wolves. I'm not familiar with the details, but I would be very surprised if they could work together effectively after Goran's comments. You have to build trust with your player, and this is not the way.”

Now, Ivanisevic, who is famous for having a successful six-year stint with former world number one Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, has hit back at Mouratoglou. Speaking in an interview, Ivanisevic stated that he does not want to act like Mouratoglou and talk negatively about him. Instead, he will seek a face-to-face conversation with Mouratoglou. Ivanisevic also said that at the moment, he wants to keep his opinion to himself and would like to ‘explain’ certain things to the former coach of Naomi Osaka.

"I will talk with Patrick when I see him,” he said. “You do not do that. If he has a problem with me, he should call me and tell me what he thinks. I will explain to Patrick what I think instead of going around and telling everyone what I think of him. At the moment, it's better to keep my opinion about him for myself and remain quiet. If I go to Toronto or Cincinnati, I'm more than excited at the idea of seeking Patrick to talk to him and explain certain things. I know why he said those things about me, but I have never had any issue with any coach in my life. Coaches should support each other and not go online to talk.”