Jan 29, 2023; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Novak Djokovic of Serbia shakes hands with Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece after the men's final on day fourteen of the 2023 Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park.

tennis

Stefanos Tsitsipas Makes Huge Move, to Add Novak Djokovic’s Former Coach Goran Ivanisevic to Coaching Staff Post Roland Garros 2025

Ivanisevic recently split with WTA star Elena Rybakina.

In a huge addition to his setup, two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas is ready to welcome former World No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic into his coaching team after the 2025 Roland Garros. Tsitsipas, currently ranked No. 8 in the world, is competing at the Monte Carlo Masters – where he is the defending champion. With the grass court season approaching right after Paris, Ivanisevic’s expertise could be crucial in helping the Greek starlet with his serve.

As a player, Ivanisevic is a former Wimbledon champion (2001) and the winner of 22 ATP singles titles. The southpaw was known for his powerful serve, and held the record for most aces at Wimbledon for close to two decades – until Roger Federer dethroned him in 2019. The Croatian legend retired in 2004, and was later inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2020.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Goran Ivanisevic to Form Iconic Alliance

According to Gazzetta, Ivanisevic will join the Tsitsipas setup after the French Open in the summer. Tsitsipas has been searching for consistency and titles over the recent past, and the Croat’s inclusion is sure to bolster his chances. Ivanisevic has been a coach for over 12 years, working side-by-side with some of the world’s best players during this time.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has lined up Goran Ivanisevic to be his new coach, beginning together after Roland Garros.https://t.co/waHCWih9nU
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) April 10, 2025

Stefanos Tsitsipas has been coached by Dimitris Chatzinikolaou, the captain of the Greek Davis Cup team, for a brief period now. However, recent conjecture from Greece has been that the future of their partnership is questionable. The former World No. 3 was coached by his father for the longest time, alongside stints with Mark Philippoussis. The 26-year-old also has strong connections with the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy since 2015.

Meanwhile, Ivanisevic is re-entering the coaching scene on the back of an unsuccessful partnership with former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh decided to bring back former coach Stefano Vukov to her team, which ended her alliance with Ivanisevic.

Ivanisevic’s Illustrious Coaching Career With Novak Djokovic and Others

Goran Ivanisevic was thrown into the deep end in his coaching career, starting his journey with Marin Cilic in 2013. A year later, they won the 2014 US Open together, and continued until Wimbledon 2016 when Cilic lost a heartbreaking five-set thriller to Roger Federer in the quarterfinal stage. Merely a few weeks later, the left-hander joined Tomas Berdych’s team – their partnership lasted less than a year – with the Czech star firing his coach after suffering a shock loss in the 2017 French Open.

Ivanisevic then worked with Milos Raonic for a year, which he later described as being “filled with struggles due to a lack of proper communication.” During this period, the 2001 Wimbledon winner also worked with Novak Djokovic in 2018, looking to fine-tune the now 24-time Grand Slam champion’s serve. They began working together full-time in the summer of 2019 up until 2024.

During their time together, Djokovic and Ivanisevic won 12 Grand Slam titles together. It was one of the most successful partnerships in ATP Tour history. “Our on court chemistry had its ups and downs, but our friendship was always rock solid,” recounted the Serbian in his farewell post for his former coach. After this, Ivanisevic decided to take up a challenge in the WTA, but is now set to return to the ATP circuit.

ATP

Elena Rybakina

Goran Ivanisevic

Milos Raonic

Novak Djokovic

Patrick Mouratoglou

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Tennis

Tomas Berdych

WTA

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.