Where does Stefanos Tsitsipas go from here?

It has been a rough few weeks for Stefanos Tsitsipas. While the 22-year-old has been one of the brightest young players in the game, and looks to be a surefire future Grand Slam winner, he’s been trending in the wrong direction since his heartbreaking loss at the French Open.

We learned just after that match that he lost his Grandmother only “5 minutes before entering the court”. We don’t know exactly when he learned of the news, or if he knew prior to his battle against one of the greatest players of all time in Novak Djokovic.

Despite taking a two set lead to start the French Open Final, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, he dropped the next three sets and suffered a loss in his first major final appearance. It was clear he just lost his game, and was never able to recover.

His next tournament was the Wimbledon Championships, which went about as poorly as one might expect after such heartbreak at the French Open, both professionally and personally. He was up against American Frances Tiafoe, ranked 52nd in the world, in the first round. He lost the match 4-6, 4-6, 3-6. It was clear his mind was not yet ready to be back and fully focused on tennis. After Wimbledon, he took some much needed time off, to not only recuperate, but to mourn the loss of his Grandmother, who meant so much to him.

It was not until almost a month later that he played his next tournament at the Hamburg European Open, where he was the top seed. While he won his first match back 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, he quickly exited the tournament in the following round against Filip Krajinović, the 34th ranked player in the world, 6-3, 1-6, 3-6.

Shortly after the Hamburg European Open, things only got more interesting after Tsitsipas made this claim:

I will take a second here to discuss my own opinion on this point before getting back into this story. Tennis is one of the most unique sports in that in-game coaching is not allowed. While coaching in-game is considered a normal part of many major sports, tennis is different. It’s very much part of a players skillset to be able to handle every possible scenario that may arise during a game without point to point assistance. I struggle to see how it would be fair for top players in the game to have access to the best coaching in the world and be able to use it anytime they are facing a tough situation. It’s a fact that players ranked much lower in the world who are trying to break through and find success would not be able to afford this kind of coaching. It would only widen the disparity in the sport, and take away the most unique part of it: the fact that it’s all about the individual player and how they handle pressure, adversity, endurance and their mental game.

Now back to the story. Here is where it gets interesting. Nick Kyrgios, an Australian tennis player who is used to his own fair share of criticism over the years, weighed in on Tsitsipas’ take:

"“I usually don’t mind his ideas, but this one is terrible”."

Straight to the point from Nick. While tennis should absolutely continue to evolve and modernize, in-game coaching, and doing so from point to point is something that will only make tennis take a step back. Imagine Djokovic, the best player in tennis, with even more coaching than he has now and using it in moments of adversity. He’s already the most mentally strong player in the game, how would anyone stop that? They wouldn’t.

So where does Tsitsipas go from here? Well actually, he’s on his way to the Olympic Games to represent Greece in Tokyo. The biggest question I have right now is if he can overcome the current headspace he’s in. For a 22-year-old, he actually has a pretty solid mental game, and I have full faith that he has what it takes to come into these Olympic Games and show that he’s back. He needs a good showing to regain confidence and get back into his winning form. With both Federer and Nadal opting out of the Olympics, Tsitsipas absolutely has a chance to go deep in this tournament. His biggest obstacle will be Novak Djokovic, who is the clear favorite to not only win the Gold Medal, but continue his chase for the “Golden Slam”. Can Tsitsipas find redemption and even play spoiler to tennis history? We will soon find out.