Follow us on Google Discover Stefanos Tsitsipas isn’t playing at the moment, as he continues to recover from injury.
Days before the Paris Masters began, Tsitsipas withdrew from the tournament, having already skipped the China Open, Shanghai Masters, and Vienna Open over recent weeks.
Tsitsipas will fall out of the world’s top 30 as a result, leaving him with work to do if he wants to be seeded at next year’s Australian Open.
Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images
Away from the court, Tsitsipas has been as active as ever on social media, offering up plenty of weird and wonderful inspirational quotes.
Taking a brief break from his philosophical posts, Tsitsipas sent a message to a retiring ATP star, with whom he played doubles at the Barcelona Open two years ago.
Stefanos Tsitsipas sends message to Nicolas Mahut as he retires from tennis
French doubles legend Nicolas Mahut retired from tennis at the Paris Masters, following his first-round defeat alongside Grigor Dimitrov.
Reacting to the news, Tsitsipas took to X to share his thoughts.
“Proud to say I got to play doubles with someone who holds a Career Grand Slam,” said Tsitsipas.
“Happy retirement and congratulations on a great career, Nicolas Mahut.”
Mahut won the Career Grand Slam in doubles, winning five majors in total.
Nicolas Mahut’s Grand Slam titles
Tsitsipas had the privilege of playing doubles with Mahut at the 2023 Barcelona Open, as the pair took on Matwe Middelkoop and Andreas Mies in round one.
Securing the win in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4, Tsitsipas and Mahut advanced to the second round.
There, they met the number-one seeds, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski.
Dropping the first set 6-4, Mahut and Tsitsipas bravely fought back to take the second 6-3, as their quarterfinal required a match tiebreak.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
They couldn’t quite get over the line, however, as Tsitsipas and Mahut lost 7-10 to the more experienced team.
Tsitsipas and Mahut also met once in singles on the ATP Tour, in Marseille, seven years ago.
It was Mahut that emerged victorious, edging a tight first-round encounter, 7-6, 7-5.
They also played a year earlier in the third round of US Open qualifying, where Mahut picked up the win.
Nicolas Mahut defended Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2021 US Open
Four years after Mahut and Tsitsipas played for a spot in the US Open main draw, the Greek star defeated Andy Murray in round one.
The Brit grew frustrated with Tsitsipas, who took a lengthy bathroom break during the match and called him out for his ‘nonsense’ behavior.
Coming to Tsitsipas’ defense, Mahut told L’Equipe what he thought about the bathroom break controversy.
“It’s clearly excessive. But I don’t think he does it to bother his opponent. It benefits him. He’s a player who sweats a lot, that’s a fact,” he said.
“I understand the inconvenience it causes players when there’s a break. Are the breaks too long? Yes. Could [Stefanos] Tsitsipas make them shorter? Yes. Does it break the rhythm? Yes. Now, I find the criticism he’s getting unfair. Because he’s not the only one who does it.
“We need to stop the Tsitsipas bashing.”
Tsitsipas went on to reach the third round of the 2021 US Open, where he lost to newcomer Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.
What’s next for Nicolas Mahut after tennis retirement?
Earlier this year, Mahut began coaching his fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.
The 29-year-old is currently ranked 57th in the world, and will no doubt hope to break into the top-50 next year.
Snapshot of the ATP Rankings
Fans may remember watching Bonzi defeat Daniil Medvedev at the US Open earlier this year, as he took down the former champion in a thriller on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
It remains to be seen if Mahut can guide Bonzi to more Grand Slam upsets in 2026, but it will certainly be something to keep an eye on.
Away from coaching, Mahut acts as the sports director for the Rennes Challenger Tour event.