Stefanos Tsitsipas clarified his remarks following the strong reaction to his interview with CLAY, published last Tuesday.
“I truly enjoy playing in South America. The passion of the fans there is special and I have a lot of respect for the tournaments and the culture around tennis in that region. My comments were never a complaint and never meant as criticism,” the Greek wrote on his Instagram stories.
The former world No. 3 had previously revealed the reason why he has never competed on the South American clay swing.
“South America never offered me a good enough deal to seriously consider it. The Middle East has always been much better in terms of appearance fees. The European swing has also provided strong financial incentives. It does make a difference,” Tsitsipas told CLAY after his elimination at the Australian Open.
Tsitsipas added: “Every tennis player also chooses tournaments based on appearence fees. That’s how tennis works.”
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Speaking from Indian Wells on Monday, the 27-year-old sought to further explain his position.
“Players, outside of prize money, have very limited ways to support their careers financially. The reality is that ATP 250 and ATP 500 events are often the only opportunities where appearance fees exist,” said the three-time Monte Carlo Masters champion.
“Because of that, scheduling decisions are sometimes influenced by those factors. This is not unique to me. It is a standard model followed by many players, especially those competing at the top level,” Tsitsipas said. He has earned nearly $37 million in official prize money.
“I was explaining something that is common knowledge inside professional tennis, not expressing negativity toward any country or tournament.”
“I have great appreciation for every place I compete in and I hope to play in many different regions of the world in the future,” he added, leaving the door open to potentially compete in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro or Santiago — tournaments that operate with smaller budgets compared to February events in Europe, the Middle East or the United States.
Tsitsipas appeared outside the top 40 this Monday for the first time since 2018. Now ranked No. 43 in the world, he suffered a sharp drop after losing in the first round of the ATP 500 in Dubai, a tournament he had won in 2025.
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