"The car was being driven by a third person" - Stefanos Tsitsipas lawyer sheds light on speeding incident

Stefanos Tsitsipas has been in the news for the wrong reasons recently after reports surfaced of him speeding at 210km/h in his native Greece. These, however, have been debunked by his lawyer who claimed that the car was driven by a third person.

The event occurred back on the 24th September 2025 when digital cameras picked up a Lotus zooming along the Attiki Odos, a motorway in Greece. It was much quicker than the 120km/h speed limit implemented on this stretch of road, thus putting Tsitsipas in some hot water. With it his car, he was subsequently forced to pay the €2000 fine, meaning that he was one of the first people to receive a digital fine. These had been introduced in Greece to make paying fines a lot more simple and straightforward. On top of that, he had his licence revoked for one year. 

Despite this, it seems that Tsitsipas was not the one in control of the wheel. His lawyer, Thanasis Papathanasiou, cleaned up the messy situation. "Regarding the incident that was made public, the car was being driven by a third person. The issue of the fine and the surrender of the licence have all been handled," he stated.

Overall, it seems that the 27-year-old has got off the hook. He had returned to Greece after a lower back injury prevented him from continuing to play. Therefore, he skipped the Asian swing to focus on making a full recovery. Around the time of the incident, the Japan Open was being played, with the China Open soon commencing. These were big ATP 500 events that Tsitsipas was missing out on, losing the chance to pick up valuable ranking points as his overall total slowly dwindled. For the first time since July 2018, he was no longer in featured in the top 30 in the world. That is kudus to his recent poor form from the soaring heights he once was at.

He is a two-time Grand Slam finalist, and in a distant alternate universe he could have lifted one. After finding himself two sets up against Novak Djokovic in the 2021 French Open final, it looked like he was set to complete his destiny. Unfortunately, it was not to be. The Serbian clawed his way back to break Tsitsipas' heart and prevent him of a maiden slam. His second final came just under two years later in the 2023 Australian Open final, where once again Djokovic prevailed, this time in straight sets.

Back in mid-October, he tweeted: "Witnessing greatness up close makes you hungry for more. Working hard to finish the season strong in Vienna, Paris, and Athens." He did not play in any of them due to recovering from surgery from a lower back injury. While he recovered in time to replace Jack Draper in the Six Kings Slam, he was unable to play in any of the three events promised. Most notably was a maiden voyage to the Hellenic Championship in his homeland.

While this was a painful miss, there is always next year. Speaking of 2026, that is right around the corner, and it is a hugely important one for Tsitsipas. His ambition is to return to where he once was at, challenging for the biggest titles on a consistent basis. First up is a return to the United Cup in Australia. Representing Greece, he will team up with Maria Sakkari as they look to make it out of the group phase. This was a task they failed to do last year. After defeating Spain, they needed to get the better of Kazakhstan but were thumped 3-0. He will be hoping to start the year better not just for himself, but for his country.