Stefanos Tsitsipas has opened up about Goran Ivanisevic’s criticism following their tumultuous partnership in 2025, saying his former coach’s comments “really hurt”.

After slipping out of the top 10 of the ATP Rankings last April, Tsitsipas started working with 2003 Grand Slam winner Ivanisevic and he appointed the Croatian as his coach in May.

A few weeks after the appointment, the Greek opened up about how “strict” his new mentor was as he told Tennis365: “I’d say Goran is strict on me and he’s very tough on me.

“Any other player would probably freak out and be like, ‘How the heck is he allowed to talk to me like that?’ You know? Get it kind of personal. But I need this, because I need the truth and I need to have someone that’s tough with me.”

But the cracks started to show at Wimbledon as Ivanisevic slammed the former world No 3 for being out of shape, telling Sport Klub: “He wants to, but he doesn’t do anything. All ‘I want, I want’, but I don’t see any progress.

“I was shocked, I’ve never seen a more unprepared player in my life. With this knee, I’m three times more prepared than him. This is really bad.”

Ivanisevic came under criticism from the tennis community over his public comments about the player, but he doubled down and it was no surprise when they parted ways in August.

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But the Croatian was again asked about Tsitsipas in a recent interview and he once again issued a stinging verdict about the Greek’s fitness, on-court and off-court struggles.

“I knew after the second day of training [that it would not succeed]. When he came to Zagreb to try rackets, I understood that it wouldn’t work out,” he told Sport Klub.

“In the end, I didn’t say anything bad; everything I stated was true and proved to be so. After Wimbledon, I advised him to take four months off because it wasn’t just a physical issue but also mental.

“He remains a phenomenal player, he was and still is, but those are just details. In today’s tennis, you can’t compete without being mentally prepared.”

Tsitsipas’ slump has continued as he as slipped to No 49 in the ATP Rankings with his last title coming at the Rotterdam Open in February 2025.

The Greek was asked by The Times about Ivanisevic’s comments and replied: “I didn’t see any point in it. If it was a way of him pushing me into working harder and getting my s*** together, it was definitely not the right tactic. I was really hurt.

“I never expected that a coach could do that to me, and the worst thing is what he said was not true. I was not fit because I had been injured.

“I hadn’t been practising properly for over two weeks. It was like he kicked me when I was already down.”