Tsitsipas and the Shark's Moral

The Greek is in a pool full of sharks. Having lost his hunger for a long time, he either regains it or runs the serious risk of being devoured.

Jose Morón | 13 Jan 2025 | 18.00
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Tsitsipas and the moral of the shark. Photo: Getty
Tsitsipas and the moral of the shark. Photo: Getty

In 2017, I had the opportunity to speak with Alex Corretja at the Madrid tournament, and he described the circuit as a pool full of sharks, where if you weren't hungry enough, they would eat you. This is precisely what is happening to Stefanos Tsitsipas now. Today, the Greek again found himself out in the early stages of a Grand Slam and resembles very little, if at all, the player who shone in this same tournament just a few years ago.

At 26, Stefanos should be a tennis player near or fully immersed in his tennis maturity stage. At that age where physique and intelligence embrace to reach the peak performance of an athlete. Judging by his recent numbers, Tsitsipas seems more like a declining tennis player. After today, many wonder if we can still rally Stefanos, who seems to have his focus elsewhere than in tennis.

In this same tournament, the Greek had several of the best moments of his -still- short career. Not long ago, Tsitsipas amazed the world on these courts by defeating Federer and Nadal, and reaching the final in 2023. Now, in 2025, Stefanos will go home wondering what has happened for him to go from one extreme to the other in such a short time. From being considered a contender to win these types of tournaments, to almost no one being surprised that he exits early in a Slam.

Trying to find an answer to this question, the Greek analyzed his current situation in a press conference. “In 2020, I had more mental freshness. It seemed like I had more hunger than now,” Stefanos observed. “Back then, I had the hunger to make tennis my life. It's different now. Tennis has changed a lot. I feel like, years ago, there was a different energy. I would say I'm a better player than I was then, even though I lose more now,” he continued.

It sounds contradictory at first. How can you lose more often when, supposedly, you're a better player? Stefanos may be mistaking working better with being a better player. Tennis hasn't changed so drastically since 2021 to justify this. Just look at how a player similar to him, like Dimitrov, has evolved, reaching a new peak in terms of tennis in the last year and a half. His issue may lie in how his tennis has stagnated over the past four years and the lack of necessary evolution to compete with a generation like that of Sinner or Alcaraz.

Tsitsipas has firsthand experience that tennis is a sport in constant evolution. You can't play the same way today as you did five years ago. Either you adapt or you fall behind. Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic know this very well. They evolved and adapted brilliantly to this game. That's how they have been able to achieve so much success nearly twenty years after their debut. The Greek remains in the same spot in terms of weakness on the backhand side, which we could even say has worsened compared to previous years, as well as in his return, which is far from the top level. Progress becomes challenging.

“Before, the game wasn't as physical,” Tsitsipas continues to analyze. “Now, everything has become more physical. Margins are smaller. Innovation has taken a step forward and has allowed players to serve better than before. In the past, everything was less powerful. It was physical, but not as much as now,” he reflected. Stefanos has realized that playing beautifully and aesthetically is no longer sufficient, and that he now needs something missing to get back to where he once was. At 26, he has plenty of time to turn the situation around and dream big again. He has the qualities for that. After freeing himself from his father, he still needs to choose a coach who can reignite his passion and desire.

The Greek would do well to learn the moral of the shark. In that pool where he has been for years, Tsitsipas was a fish swimming freely and fearlessly, feeling strong. By not evolving or feeling danger, he ended up not moving, not evolving. This was noticed by the other species in the pool. In the environment, we only thrive when we overcome challenges. Tsitsipas has started to be preyed upon by the rest of the sharks, seeing that he wasn't moving. He must regain his hunger soon or he will end up being devoured completely.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Tsitsipas y la moraleja del tiburón