Tsitsipas: "When I started playing on tour, I thought I would develop friendships"

Tennis News
Tuesday, 11 August 2020 at 09:45
Tsitsipas Stefanos ATPFinals2019 scaled

Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of the biggest talents of men's tennis, now the 21-years-old Greek shared his tennis story with behindtheracquet.com.

Stefanos Tsitsipas turned pro already back in 2016. Since 2015, he trains with Patrick Mouratoglou who also coaches Serena Williams. The Greek triumphed at the 2019 ATP Finals and reached the semifinals at the 2019 Australian Open. His career-high in the ATP Rankings is the fifth place and he's one of the biggest talents of men's tennis.
“In 2018, I broke into the Top 15 and was seeded in Grand Slams. That's when I understood my potential. In the beginning, I traveled with only my dad. Now, I travel with my dad, mom, and three siblings. I'm the main source of income for my family. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣I have hobbies that keep me interested in different aspects of life. These activities keep me creative and are reflected in my tennis game. Sometimes, I post things on my social media that not many people understand. These posts express my inner creativity. I put Stefanos’ twist on life. I am philosophical, I come from a country with a history of philosophy and I don't know if I was Pythagoras or Socrates in my previous life, but I wouldn't mind being either one," Tsitsipas said.
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"There was a time when I wasn't doing well. I started to play futures and was doubting myself. I wasn't sure if I was good enough to play professional tennis. My country was on the verge of bankruptcy. The entire population was suffering. My father's siblings were unemployed and couldn't feed their families. People looked at me like I was the one ruling the country and they thought I was part of the problem," said Tsitsipas.
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"I felt isolated. I wasn't home to see what was going on because I was traveling. I needed support. My mental coach shared his wisdom and inspired me. Then I said to myself, ‘You've dedicated your entire life to tennis, you can't just give up. You’ve got to keep going.’ I play tennis to prove that my country has a great history and can achieve success. Tennis is a very introverted sport and we face everything alone. We have a team that follows us all over the world but I have spent countless sleepless nights on my own. All the traveling and competing causes a lot of stress and I grew very lonely," Tsitsipas said.
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"I was an introverted child and didn't have many friends. When I started playing on tour, I thought I would develop friendships but it turned out to be the opposite. Most players keep to themselves. I feel like players don't want to become friends because they think someone will grab a secret from you to beat you. I guess they're just too serious about the whole thing. Friends would make traveling less lonely,⁣⁣” said Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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