A photo of Julia Tsitsipas, mother of rising Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas, consoling Latvian Ernests Gulbis after his defeat to her son at the Stockholm Open on Sunday has gone viral.
Julia Tsitsipas-Salnikova, herself a former tennis player, approached Gulbis to whisper a few encouraging words into his ear after his defeat.
Stef’s mom and Ernie post match. #gulbis #Tsitsipas pic.twitter.com/TLYHXQDbEV
— Jess ? (@jessica4stein) October 21, 2018
Tsitsipas’ parents Apostolos and Julia witnessed a clinical display by their 20-year-old son, who made Greek tennis history by becoming the first ever Greek to win an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) title.
These are the moments we all live for!
First @atpworldtour title in #Stockholm ??! pic.twitter.com/rzCWZSWfFv
— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) October 21, 2018
Both of Tsitsipas’ parents are experienced tennis players, and his mother in particular was formerly a world No. 1 junior who had a career-high professional ranking inside the top 200.
His parents both worked as tennis instructors at the Astir Palace resort hotel south of Athens at the time of his birth. They originally met at a World Tennis Association (WTA) tournament in Athens, where his mother was competing and his father served as a line judge.
Source: Tasos Kokkinidis/greekreporter
