Earlier this month world No.7 Stefanos Tsitsipas announced that he is taking a break from social media. Although there is one platform that he is continuing to use.
Shortly after his loss at the US Open, the 21-year-old said he wanted to take a break from the world wide web in order to ‘refresh’ himself and bring himself closer ‘to the people who matter to him.’ Instead his management is currently managing his social media accounts and Tsitsipas said he has removed the apps from his phone.
“I believe it’s going to help a lot on the mental side and also fewer distractions in my life,” Tsitsipas said in a video posted on Twitter.
“The reason why I am doing this is to refresh myself, to kind of bring myself closer to the people that matter to me and not concentrate on people that I don’t know and don’t really have anything to do with me. By doing this, I will have more time for my loved ones and people I really care about.”
Questioned about his blackout at this week’s Zhuhai Championships in China, Tsitsipas said he is feeling better for doing so. Whilst the likes of Twitter and others can help expand the popularity of players, they also do have drawbacks. In the past there have been cases of threats made against players as well as other insulting comments. Madison Keys have been one of the most vocal tennis players to speak out about her experiences with online trolls.
Whilst minimising his presence online, there is one website Tsitsipas is continuing to use – YouTube. An avid video blogger, he currently has 159,000 subscribers. His latest video was uploaded on Wednesday and was filmed in Geneva, Switzerland, where he played in the Laver Cup last weekend.
“I don’t consider YouTube that much of a social media platform, although it belongs there, because you don’t have other people posting stuff, saying their opinions.” He explained.
“There’s not much contact between you and the rest of the people out there, except the comment section which it is your choice if you want to watch what they have to say or not. So YouTube is the only app that I have that belongs to social media, that I have full control of.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSh_TRgWIBM
Tsitsipas is currently in contention of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals in London. Only the eight highest ranked players will be eligible to participate in the round-robin event. However, the Greek has suffered a setback this week after withdrawing from his opening match in Zhuhai due to illness.
The next tournament on Tsitsipas’ schedule is the China Open which will get underway on Monday.
Tsitsipas’ social media profile
- Twitter – 128,700 followers
- Instagram – 692,000 followers
- Facebook – 104, 230 likes
- YouTube – 159,000 subscribers
(numbers as of 27/09/2019)
