If it’s not one thing, it’s another with Stefanos Tsitsipas. For all his tennis talents, he is often accused of gamesmanship and cheating in his matches. Here are all the ways he has managed to get under his opponents’ skins.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Gamesmanship Tactics
Bathroom Breaks
Stefanos Tsitsipas is notorious for taking long bathroom breaks. In more than one instance, he was accused of getting coached by his dad via text during his bathroom breaks. Conveniently, he takes these long breaks while he is losing.
The issue is that you cannot stop the way that that affects you physically. When you’re playing a brutal match like that, you know, stopping for seven, eight minutes, you do cool down. You can prepare for it mentally as much as you like, but it’s the fact that it does affect you physically when you take a break that long, well, multiple times during the match.
– Andy Murray
Shoes
Tsitipas’ shoelaces break often during matches. “Shoe-gate” issues have been common in Tsitsipas’ matches but Adidias and Tsitsipas have not been able to resolve them.
My laces are breaking on the last hole, when I’m sliding forehand side. My laces touch the ground. There’s a friction that causes the breakage of my shoelaces.
– Stefanos Tsitsipas
Coaching
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ dad, Apostolos, has been often accused of coaching from the stands. Apostolos often talks to Stefanos during breaks and communicates via signals.
Medical Time Outs
Tsitsipas has taken “strategic” time breaks to distract his opponents in key matches. Many other tennis players abuse medical time out as well.
Anger Issues
Tsitsipas tends to show a lot of anger when things are not going his way on the court. On one occasion, he even accidentally hit his father with his racquet.