Stefanos Tsitsipas’ father Apostolos has been blasted for giving his son on-court advice at the Australian Open. Tsitsipas has made it to the quarter-finals of the opening Grand Slam of the year, where he is set to face Italian Jannik Sinner.
Tsitsipas senior is part of the player’s coaching team but has been seen giving his son tactical suggestions from the box during matches.
On the ATP tour, on-court coaching is prohibited – but these rules appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
Tsitsipas was given a coaching violation in his third round victory over Benoit Paire and received the same punishment during his enthralling fourth round triumph over Taylor Fritz, where he came from 2-1 down to claim victory.
And former Swedish tennis star Mats Wilander says the coaching needs to stop.
“At some point his father needs to get out of there,” the seven-time Grand Slam champion told Eurosport.
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“Make it legal. It’s about time the sport takes a big step forward.”
Tsitsipas will be hoping he can do enough to go all the way at the Australian Open this year.
Last time around he reached the semi-finals, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.
Medvedev was ultimately beaten by Novak Djokovic in the final, but the Russian is now favourite to land the title this year in the absence of the champion.
Djokovic had been set to defend his crown but had his visa cancelled upon his arrival Down Under earlier this month and was eventually deported as he hasn’t been vaccinated against COVID-19.
