Stefanos Tsitsipas

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    Stefanos Tsitsipas – the Greek God of Tennis

    Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas made history at a young age, becoming the first player from his country ever to crack the world's top 100. Born on August 12, 1998, in Athens, tennis was practically in the cradle for the 6'4" (1.93 m) right-hander. Both his parents, Apostolos and Julia, played tennis — his mother Julia was even the world's No. 1 junior in her youth and represented her native Russia in the Fed Cup. When Stefanos Tsitsipas was born, his parents were working as tennis coaches at the Astir Palace Hotel, around twenty kilometers outside Athens.

    So it's no surprise that at just three years old, he was already rallying balls with his father during training breaks — his father would later become his first coach. His three younger siblings, Petros, Pavlos and Elisaveta, are also hooked on tennis. As a child, Tsitsipas also played football and loved swimming, but at nine he decided to become a professional tennis player. From 2015, he trained in part at the renowned tennis academy of coach Patrick Mouratoglou, regularly commuting between his native Greece and the academy in France. That same year, Tsitsipas nearly drowned while swimming, but was luckily rescued by his father.

    Playing style: aggressive baseline tennis

    Stefanos Tsitsipas is an aggressive baseline player with the ability to play all-court tennis. His powerful forehand earns him plenty of easy points, especially on his own serve, when he uses heavy topspin to push opponents wide and set up his finishing shot. Unusually for a baseliner, Tsitsipas comes to the net fairly often. In his constant pursuit of winners, he's also prone to a fair number of unforced errors.

    Despite his powerful forehand, the Greek's favorite shot is his one-handed backhand, which he's superb at sending down the line. Only a handful of players still hit their backhand one-handed these days, but for Tsitsipas it was only natural, since both his parents and his idol Roger Federer play it the classic way. Tsitsipas' favorite surface is grass, so it's no surprise that the hobby vlogger and podcaster names Wimbledon as his favorite tournament.

    Early years and breakthrough

    Stefanos Tsitsipas started playing the ITF Junior Circuit at just 14. There he won Wimbledon and rose to junior world No. 1. He played his first professional season in 2016, when a wildcard for the Swiss Indoors in Basel gave him his first ATP tournament appearance, in which he even made it through the first round. The following year, he qualified for a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the French Open, won his first Challenger title in Genoa, and became the first Greek player ever to break into the ATP top 100.

    The breakthrough came in 2018: at the Canadian Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his first Masters final, celebrated his first Grand Slam match win in Paris, and traveled to Wimbledon as a seeded player (No. 31) for the first time, reaching the fourth round. Tsitsipas then celebrated his first tournament title in Stockholm, and later went on to win the NextGen ATP Finals, beating the one-year-younger Australian Alex de Minaur. At the end of this hugely successful year, Tsitsipas was named the ATP's “Most Improved Player.”

    The following year, Tsitsipas confirmed his good form. At the Australian Open in January, he was only knocked out in the semifinal, against Rafael Nadal — his biggest success at a major up to that point, and particularly remarkable given that the previous year he had won just five matches at Grand Slam tournaments. In the meantime, Stefanos Tsitsipas climbed to No. 5 in the ATP rankings and ended the year at No. 6, earning him his first appearance at the ATP Finals. After beating Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev in the round-robin stage, he defeated Austria's Dominic Thiem in the final, capping off an outstanding season by becoming the youngest winner of the event since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001.

    Climbing the ranks step by step

    The pandemic-shadowed year of 2020 didn't bring the Greek any major triumphs, but he still managed to win a title and finished the season once again at No. 6 in the world rankings. In 2021, he experienced his biggest breakthrough yet at the French Open, reaching his first Grand Slam final. He lost, however, to Novak Djokovic in a thrilling five-set match. Earlier that year, he had already celebrated his first Masters title in Monte Carlo, beating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-3. Thanks to his strong results, he finished the season ranked fourth in the world.

    In 2022, Tsitsipas was especially successful at the Masters level. He defended his title in Monte Carlo and reached the final in Rome and Cincinnati. He also made it to the semifinal at the Australian Open. In total, he contested seven finals that season, winning two of them. 2023 began for Tsitsipas with another big final, as he reached the championship match at the Australian Open. But once again it was “Nole” who denied him the title.

    Tsitsipas' tennis racket, strings and clothing

    Success on the tennis court doesn't just take the right people in your corner — the right tennis gear plays a crucial role too. Only when we can fully rely on our racket, its stringing, and our tennis shoes and clothing are we able to devote our full concentration to the match. In this respect, Stefanos Tsitsipas has some strong partners by his side: his shoes and tennis clothing come from adidas, and his rackets from Wilson, which he has strung with Luxilon tennis strings.

    If you'd like to enjoy the same benefits as Stefanos Tsitsipas, you'll find every product the Greek star relies on — and that has accompanied his success for years — in our tennis online shop. We also regularly have attractive special offers for you, so it's always worth checking back. So what are you waiting for? Stock up on tennis gear from Stefanos Tsitsipas now and play your best game yet! Enjoy browsing!