Stefanos Tsitsipas hires Goran Ivanisevic as coach for grass-court season

After his earliest exit at Roland Garros in seven years, Stefanos Tsitsipas is hiring a super coach to get him back on track.

Representatives for the Greek said Thursday that he has hired 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic as a coach beginning in the grass-court season. An Instagram post by Tsitsipas' management, the Monte Carlo-based Iconico Talent, confirmed the news, which the Greek later shared to his own personal Instagram story.

“Working with Goran is an exciting opportunity for me,” Tsitsipas said in a statement. “He is someone who has reached the highest levels of tennis, both as a player and as a coach. I am confident that his experience will help me grow further and I am really looking forward to that."

The announcement came after Tsitsipas had previously side-stepped rumors that surfaced in Greek media during the Monte Carlo that he would be hiring Ivanisevic, and less than 24 hours after he suffered a four-set, second-round loss in Paris to Italian Matteo Gigante, ranked No. 167—one that will knock him out of the Top 20 of the ATP rankings. After the loss, Tsitsipas confessed that he's "lost a little bit of hope" in recent years following various nagging injuries, only for the two-time Grand Slam finalist and ex-world No. 3 to reaffirm his desire to be among tennis' best.

Read more: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and the twilight of the Next Gen titans

"I still want to be the best player in the world and I still want to do great things around this sport that I chose to play," he said. "My attention and focus is always to try and improve any aspect of my game. ... It's a constant puzzle. I'm ambitious, and I want to prove it on the tennis court."

Read more: Stefanos Tsitsipas says he’s "lost a bit of hope" after Roland Garros defeat

The move will put Ivanisevic, who also had a long stint coaching Novak Djokovic as well as a spell with Marin Cilic, back on the ATP tour after he started the 2025 season with Elena Rybakina. He and the 2022 Wimbledon champion teamed up on a trial basis beginning in the 2024 off-season, but the partnership quickly dissolved amidst the controversy surrounding Rybakina's decision to re-hire former coach Stefano Vukov.

Rybakina revealed in early January that she was bringing back former coach Vukov as a team member, a move that caught Ivanisevic by surprise. Vukov then traveled to Australia, but was barred from being credentialed while under a provisional WTA suspension amid an investigation for breaching the tour’s Code of Conduct, for which he was eventually handed a 12-month suspension.

Eventually, after just two events together and Rybakina's fourth-round exit at the Australian Open to eventual champion Madison Keys, Rybakina and Ivanisevic parted ways.

“After our trial period that finished with Australian Open, I wish Elena and her team the best of luck moving forward,” he wrote in a social media post at the time.

About teaming up with Tsitsipas, Ivanisevic said: "Stefanos is a very talented tennis player with a strong work ethic. He has shown that he belongs among the best, and I’m happy to be part of the next steps of his journey. My goal is to enable him to thrive, building on the strong foundation he has already laid.”