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Stefanos Tsitsipas does not think that the Hellenic Tennis Federation is doing enough to support its talents as the top-ranked Greek male tennis player has a clear plan for how he wants to help promising players from his country.
In world No. 6 Tsitsipas and eighth-ranked Maria Sakkari, Greece has two top-10 players and two big names on the men's and women's Tours. But besides Tsitsipas and Sakkari, Greece doesn't have more big or notable names in tennis.
In men's tennis, Greece's second-best ranked player is 19-year-old Stefanos Sakellaridis, who is ranked at No. 416 in the world. When it comes to the WTA Tour, the next best-ranked player after Sakkari is Despina Papamichail, who is sitting at No. 215 in the world.
Greece has several young players on both Tours but they just haven't been able to create more notable or star names over the last couple of years. Two-time Grand Slam finalist Tsitsipas wants to help Greek tennis and he hopes he and Sakkari can join forces and figure out something together.
Tsitsipas wants to help Greek tennis, invites Sakkari to join him
"Personally, I have a plan, which I want to implement in a few years from now. I don't expect anything from the federation, they won't be responsible for it, it's a personal matter and something I want to create in the next few years. Of course, in this project, Maria is also welcome," Tsitsipas told Greek reporters at the United Cup.
In the same interview, Tsitsipas said that he was able to mentor Sakkelaridis in some ways during this year's United Cup. Also, Tsitsipas highlighted that his goal is to help younger players and that he really wants to leave a legacy and do something good for the future of Greek tennis.
When it comes to Tsitsipas' wishes and desires, he admitted he wants more Greek players to reach the same heights that he and Sakkari reached. Explaining his motives, Tsitsipas underlined that he is doing all of this because of his passion for tennis and not because of money or any personal gain.