Naomi Osaka’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, has taken issue with Goran Ivanišević’s blunt criticism of Stefanos Tsitsipas, calling out the Croatian for publicly airing grievances just weeks into their new coaching partnership.
Mouratoglou, who trained a young Tsitsipas in his tennis academy, argued that a coach’s job is to build trust and guide a player through tough times and not to tear them down in front of the world.
Goran Ivanišević Slammed Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Fitness and Commitment After Wimbledon Exit
The controversy began after Tsitsipas was forced to retire from his opening-round match at Wimbledon due to a recurring lower back injury. The Greek, seeded 24th, was trailing French qualifier Valentin Royer 3-6, 2-6 when he decided to stop playing.
The performance, which capped a difficult stretch for Tsitsipas, prompted a sharp response from Ivanišević, who recently joined the Greek’s team after previously coaching Novak Djokovic and briefly working with Elena Rybakina.
In a candid interview with the Sport Klub studio, Ivanišević didn’t hold back his frustration. He questioned Tsitsipas’ work ethic, saying the 26-year-old talks about wanting to improve but puts in little effort to make it happen. “He wants, but he doesn’t do anything,” Ivanišević said.
“All ‘I want, I want’, but I don’t see that progress. I was shocked. I have never seen a more unprepared player in my life. Me, at my age and with this bad knee, I’m three times in better shape than him. I’m not sure what he was doing in the previous 12 months, but his current shape is very poor.”
This didn’t sit well with Mouratoglou, who took to Instagram to call out Ivanišević for what he sees as inappropriate and damaging behavior, especially so early in the coaching relationship. In a video titled “I saw Goran Ivanišević’s harsh words about Stefanos, and I have to say…”, the French coach made it clear that Ivanišević crossed a line.
“Goran going to the press and criticizing his player is not coaching,” Mouratoglou said. “Even more at the time they just started working together, so no trust is made. You’re already killing the person publicly.”
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Naomi Osaka’s Coach Patrick Mouratoglou Urges Coaches to Lead Through Adversity, Not Shame
Mouratoglou went on to say that Ivanišević should have anticipated the challenges ahead. “When Goran accepts that job, he knows that probably Stefanos doesn’t do things the right way or that things need to change, but that’s the job,” he said.
“You arrive at a bad moment, but you know it’s a bad moment. It’s not a surprise. This difficult moment can create wrong behaviors. This is what you need to bring back to good behaviors.”
He also questioned Ivanišević’s motives for going public, suggesting the Croatian coach may be trying to deflect blame. “In a way, it makes me feel that he’s ashamed of the results and wants to separate himself from Stefanos. To say, ‘It’s not me. I’m good. He is not good. That’s his fault.’ So yeah, for a coach to see this, for me it’s painful to see it,” Mouratoglou said.
