Stefanos Tsitsipas drops outside top 30 for first time in seven years after barren run of results

Back in 2021, Stefanos Tsitsipas was firmly one of the best players in the world. Reaching a highest rank of world number three, the sky was the limit for the Greek. However, things have not turned out as expected for the two-time Grand Slam finalist who finds himself outside of the top 30 in the world for the first time since July 2018.

The reason for this sudden plummet is due to the 200 points that has come off his rankings ahead of the Paris Masters, which he has pulled out of. Tsitsipas made a run to the quarter-finals where he was defeated in straight sets by Alexander Zverev in a tight match. This has seen him fall seven places to his current position of 33rd in the world, with potential to drop even further if players around him pick up positive results in the final Masters 1000 event of the year.

It has been a very underwhelming year for the 2019 ATP Finals champion. After winning his third Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo and reaching the Roland Garros quarter-final stage for the fourth time, there were glimpsing moments in 2024 that Tsitsipas looked back to his best. Despite this, as the year went there was more defeats and early exits in tournaments. Aside two quarter-finals in the Swiss Indoors and Paris Masters, it was a bitter end to the year which saw him finish 11th in the world, his lowest year-end ranking since 2018.

He was hoping for a much improved 2025, but started it dreadful with an opening round exit in the Australian Open, an event that he reached the final of two years ago. A quarter-final in Rotterdam succeeded this before a rejuvenated Tsitsipas showcased his quality on the tennis court as he stormed to victory in the Dubai Tennis Championships. This turned out to be his first 500 triumph and 12th ATP title.

Since that straight sets victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final, he has not even reached a semi-final in any competition. He failed to continue this momentum into Indian Wells or Miami as he suffered early exits which are starting to become the norm for Tsitsipas. He even could not find success in the Monte-Carlo Masters where he was knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual runner-up Lorenzo Musetti. Known for being a very dangerous player on clay, the 27-year-old could not muster up any of that previous form. He retired very early in his quarter-final clash against Arthur Fils in Barcelona before losing in the round-of-32 in Madrid and Rome to familiar faces Musetti and Fils. Roland Garros turned out to be another huge disappointment, unable to defend many of the points he achieved from the last-eight appearance in 2024. he was defeated in the second-round by qualifier Matteo Gigante, who headed into the event as the world number 167.

Since then, Tsitsipas has only managed to record four wins in the previous nine events competed in. This included retiring in the opening round of Wimbledon, losing in the first round of the Canadian Open before being disposed of in the second round in the Cincinnati Open. His US Open adventure came to a swift conclusion in a five-set battle against Daniel Altmaier, being pegged back from a 2-1 lead. After losing to Brazil in a Davis Cup group match, Tsitsipas was invited to the Six Kings Slam, where six of the best tennis players compete in Riyadh for a huge sum of money. Many tennis fans raised an eyebrow when the Greek was introduced, filling in for Jack Draper who withdrew due to injury.

Tsitsipas has not stepped out on court since, withdrawing from the Vienna Open and Paris Masters, along with the Hellenic Championships in Athens, a major disappointment for the home crowd. It will not only see him spurn the opportuntyt to gain more ranking points but leaves him as a sitting duck with oncoming tennis players ready to leapfrog him in the standings.