Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered another shocking Grand Slam defeat at the 2025 French Open.
The Greek star began the year with a tough defeat in Melbourne, when Tsitsipas lost to Alex Michelsen in the first round of the Australian Open.
He would no doubt have expected a far better showing in Paris for the second Grand Slam of 2025, having reached the final of the French Open just four years ago.
Things started well, as Tsitsipas beat Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his opening match, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
Taking on qualifier Matteo Gigante in his second-round match, Tsitsipas was stunned in four sets, 4-6, 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, suffering his earliest exit in the French capital since 2018.
After such a tough defeat, it was clear Tsitsipas had some big decisions to make, and it looks like he hasn’t wasted any time in doing so.
It has now been reported that the 26-year-old will be hiring a former Wimbledon champion to his coaching team, as he looks to surge back up the rankings.
Stefanos Tsitsipas set to hire Goran Ivanisevic as his coach following shock exit in Paris
Greek media outlet SDNA has reported that Tsitsipas is set to bring in 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic as his coach.
Ivanisevic is expected to act as Tsitsipas’ head coach and will begin working with the world number 20 next week.
Their collaboration will initially begin as a trial, with their first tournament together set to be the Halle Open, which begins on June 16.
Ivanisevic has real pedigree as a coach, leading both Marin Cilic and Novak Djokovic to Grand Slam success.
Winning his first Major title as a coach, Ivanisevic worked with his fellow Croat, Cilic, at the 2014 US Open, where he took down Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori en route to the title.
Splitting with Cilic in 2016, Ivanisevic enjoyed short stints with Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic before joining Djokovic’s team in 2019.
Working together, Ivanisevic and Djokovic won nine Grand Slam titles before parting ways in March 2024.
Goran Ivanisevic’s Grand Slam titles with Novak Djokovic
- 2019 Wimbledon – Beat Roger Federer in F
- 2020 Australian Open – Beat Dominic Thiem in F
- 2021 Australian Open – Beat Daniil Medvedev in F
- 2021 French Open – Beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in F
- 2021 Wimbledon – Beat Matteo Berrettini in F
- 2022 Wimbledon – Beat Nick Kyrgios in F
- 2023 Australian Open – Beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in F
- 2023 French Open – Beat Casper Ruud in F
- 2023 US Open – Beat Daniil Medvedev in F
The 53-year-old then briefly ventured into coaching on the WTA Tour alongside Elena Rybakina, joining her team ahead of the 2025 season.
Their partnership was short-lived, however, as Ivanisevic departed Rybakina’s team shortly after the Australian Open.
Returning to coaching with Tsitsipas, Ivanisevic will be determined to help steady the ship, as the Greek star continues to tumble down the rankings.
The story of Stefanos Tsitsipas’ 2025 season
Tsitsipas began 2025 with ambitions of returning to the top of the men’s game, competing for the sport’s biggest titles.
Winning just two of his first five matches this year, things weren’t looking good for the former world number three before he made a bold move ahead of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Tsitsipas changed his racket ahead of the tournament, a decision that quickly paid off as he won the first ATP 500 title of his career.
Many expected the win would propel Tsitsipas to great things, but he soon began to struggle for form once more.
Barring a solid showing in Monte-Carlo, where Tsitsipas lost to Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals, he failed to make a real impact on the clay.
Holding a 3-3 record across his three latest tournaments, the Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open, Tsitsipas is set to fall well outside of the world’s top 20 when the next set of rankings are released.
With that in mind, it was clearly time for a change, as fans of the Greek now wait to see whether the wisdom of Ivanisevic can guide Tsitsipas back to the top ten.
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