Stefanos Tsitsipas: girlfriend, wife, children, family?
Here's what we know about the Greek tennis ace
Created: 05/03/2022, 11:12 am
Stefanos Tsitsipas © Ella Ling/Shutterstock / IMAGO
His father was a tennis coach, his mother a former tennis pro, his brothers and sister were tennis players, and his grandfather was an Olympic soccer champion.
Worth knowing about Stefanos Tsitsipas' way to the top.
Munich – Born on August 12, 1998 in Athens,
Stefanos Tsitsipas
is considered one of those tennis players who could follow in the footsteps of the big three –
Roger Federer
, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
By winning the
ATP Finals
, the unofficial tennis world championship, the 22-year-old Greek celebrated his greatest sporting success to date in 2019.
For many experts, however, it is only a matter of time before he wins his first Grand Slam tournament.
Tsitsipas is privately in a relationship with
Theodora Petalas
.
The two live in Monte Carlo.
Stefanos Tsitsipas – his private life
When it comes to his private life, Stefanos Tsitsipas likes to hold back.
What is known is that he is
dating Theodora Petalas
who, like him, was born in Greece.
However , Stefanos Tsitipas and
Theodora Petalas
met in New York.
“We have known each other for three years through family friends.
We first met in New York and I liked her very much, but at the time I was shy and didn't show my feelings," Stefanos Tsitsipas said in a report by sports website
EssentiallySports
.
Then, in 2019, he asked Petalas out, again in New York.
He took her to Brooklyn to take some photos.
The date became a couple and today Tsitsipas raves about the support and balance Petalas brought to his life.
"Our relationship is something very special," said the tennis star.
"The fact that we get along so well and are very similar in personality helps a lot." Petalas is an NYU graduate student with a degree in project management.
Stefanos Tsitsipas - his family, his roots
Stefanos Tsitsipas
was already on the court with a tennis racket at the age of three, and
he hasn't put it down since then.
His father Apostolos Tsitsipas - a professional tennis coach - supported him on his way to becoming a tennis pro as his personal trainer and still trains his son today.
The talent seems
Stefanos Tsitsipas
be born in the cradle, because his mother Yulia Sergeyevna Salnikova - born in Russia - also played on the WTA tour for a few years.
The highlight in the family, however, was set by the maternal grandfather: he won Olympic gold with the Soviet Union in 1956 as a soccer player.
"The two different cultures gave me a completely different perspective on things," says Stefanos Tsitsipas about his origins.
"My mother brought a lot of discipline into my game, which is not so common in Greek culture." His siblings also seem to benefit from this: He has two brothers and one sister - Petros, Elisavet and Pavlos - all of them at the tennis academy train in Nice by Patrick Mouratoglou.
Stefanos Tsitsipas – not everyone knows that about the superstar
In addition to Greek, Tsitsipas also speaks English and Russian.
As a 16-year-old, Tsitsipas almost died during a junior tournament in Crete.
After a match, he went to the sauna with a friend, after which the two wanted to cool off in the sea.
The water was deep, the waves too high.
"I almost drowned.
I was a breath or two away from death," Tsitsipas later said.
His father Apostolos was able to pull him and his friend out of the water.
In 2014 and 2015 he was in the final of the Orange Bowl, the world's most prestigious youth tournament.
Here he lost to Stefan Kozlov and Miomir Kecmanovic.
In 2016 he won the junior doubles competition at Wimbledon.
When Australia's "bad boy" Nick Kyrgios celebrated his 25th birthday on April 27, 2020, prankster Stefanos Tsitsipas published his phone number on Instagram with the request "Call me!".
In 2021 Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the final at the French Open and was beaten by Novak Djokovic in five sets.
Tsitsipas went into the game with an additional burden.
"Five minutes before I walked onto the court, my beloved grandmother lost her battle with life.
A wise woman whose belief in life and willingness to give and care for others cannot be compared to anyone I have ever met," Tsitsipas wrote in a touching post about his grandma.
And further: "Thank you for raising my father.
Without him, this (final entry; note) would not have been possible.”
About players like
B. Novak Djokovic, who refuse to be vaccinated against the Covid19 virus, says Stefanos Tsitsipas: “A very small minority have chosen to go their own way.
It makes the majority look like idiots.”
