This is the complete opposite of what coaching should be," Mouratoglou reacts to Ivanisevic's controversial statements about Tsitsipas

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Clément Gehl

le 11/07/2025 à 10h19

2 min to read

Ivanisevic Tsitsipas

Goran Ivanisevic recently became the new coach of Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been losing momentum lately.

The Croatian subsequently had very harsh words towards his player, stating that he was not physically fit at all and very poorly prepared.

These criticisms did not fail to provoke a reaction in the tennis world, notably from Patrick Mouratoglou. He knows the Greek player well, having spent many years at his academy.

For him, these statements are unacceptable. He says: "In reality, coaching has nothing to do with that; it has nothing to do with what Goran Ivanisevic suggested by saying all these things in an interview about his new player, Stefanos Tsitsipas.

No need to fuel the trolls with all these comments. He said Stef did nothing right, that he needed to change all his habits, but if Goran agrees to work with Stefanos, it's probably because he already knows he's not doing things right, and therefore needs to change them.

Stef is currently going through a difficult period; he hasn't achieved the same results as before for a while, but that's the reality, and there's no choice but to accept it.

When I started working with Serena Williams or Naomi Osaka, they were also going through a rough patch. Goran also knew that Stefanos was struggling at the moment, pointing fingers doesn't help. And most importantly: that's not coaching.

Coaching is not about playing, ever. Quite the opposite. Coaching is about understanding a person's behavior, trying to help them while being by their side, both in the same boat.

Judging is not the same as acting, but doing it publicly is even worse.

What makes me think is that Goran is ashamed of the results, that he wants to distance himself from Stefanos, like: 'It has nothing to do with me, it's not my concern, I'm fine. It's all his fault.'

Honestly, that's not coaching. It's the complete opposite of what coaching should be.

You can talk about your player in public, but not throw them to the wolves; most conversations of this kind should happen behind the scenes.

I don't have all the details either, but from what I've seen, I'd be surprised if they could work together properly.

Trust must be established from the start, but this is not how you build trust with your player.