Wimbledon 2025: Tsitsipas heavily criticised by coach Ivanisevic after first round exit

Goran Ivanisevic gave a scathing assessment of Stefanos Tsitsipas, saying he has “never seen a more unprepared player” in his life following the Greek World No. 26’s opening round exit at Wimbledon.

Tsitsipas, the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open runner-up, was forced to retire from his Wimbledon first-round match while trailing 6-3, 6-2 to French qualifier Valentin Royer on Monday due to a back injury.

The 26-year-old, who said he had no answers to his ongoing fitness problems after his elimination, appointed Croatian Ivanisevic as his coach in May after a string of disappointing results at the Grand Slams.

Ivanisevic, who won Wimbledon as a player in 2001, helped Novak Djokovic claim nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles before leaving his team in March last year. 
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Tsitsipas, a former World No. 3, has reached only one quarterfinal in his last nine Grand Slam tournaments.

“It’s simple and it’s not simple. I’ve talked to him a lot of times. If he solves some things outside of tennis, then he has a chance and he’ll return to where he belongs, because he’s too good a player to be out of the top 10,” Ivanisevic told Serbian network Sport Klub after Tsitsipas’ exit.

“He wants to but he doesn’t do anything. All ‘I want, I want’, but I don’t see that progress… I was shocked, I have never seen a more unprepared player in my life. With this knee, I am three times more fit than him. This is really bad.”

Ivanisevic, who won Wimbledon as a player in 2001, helped Novak Djokovic claim nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles before leaving his team in March last year. He then had a short stint with Kazakh world number 11 Elena Rybakina this season.