Stefanos Tsitsipas arrived in Gstaad as an unseeded player ranked 85th in the world, carrying a 16-month title drought that had gradually dimmed one of tennis’s brightest lights. He left the Swiss mountain resort on Sunday as the champion of the EFG Swiss Open, and — perhaps more importantly — as a player who looks like he might be remembering exactly who he is.
Tsitsipas defeated Belgium’s Raphaël Collignon 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3 in the final of the ATP 250 clay court event, claiming his 13th career ATP singles title and his first since beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in Dubai back in March 2025. It was also a historic result: Tsitsipas became the first Greek player ever to win the Gstaad title.
“It’s a crazy feeling right now,” Tsitsipas said during the trophy ceremony. “I survived a marathon and it was a long week. I played some crazy matches in the past couple of days. Every single match felt like it was never finished and somehow I managed to convert every single time and get the victory. Today I couldn’t be more blessed, couldn’t be more happy.”
He was not exaggerating about the marathon. Tsitsipas fought through four three-set matches across the week, including wins over fifth seed Ignacio Buse of Peru and fourth seed Arthur Rinderknech of France, before reaching Sunday’s final against Collignon. The 24-year-old Belgian was contesting the first ATP Tour final of his career and made Tsitsipas work every step of the way.
The opening set was controlled, disciplined work from the Greek. He broke early and closed out 6-4 with the assurance of a man operating well within himself. The second set told a different story. Collignon, ranked 42nd in the world and showing none of the nerves that typically affect first-time finalists, broke early and held firm across a bruising tiebreak that the Belgian claimed 7-3 to level the match and silence any notion that the trophy was already decided.
If there was a moment of doubt for Tsitsipas, the third set erased it decisively. Collignon began to fade physically and Tsitsipas pounced, winning 12 consecutive points through the middle of the set in a dominant run that broke the Belgian’s resistance entirely. He served out the title with authority, sharp on his delivery throughout — four aces, no double faults, and 21 of 29 second-serve points won across the entire match.
The numbers behind the performance reflected the week as a whole. Tsitsipas converted five of 13 break point opportunities against Collignon, a figure that tells the story of a player willing to create chances repeatedly and trust himself when they arrived.
“I would like to start by mentioning how amazing the final was today,” Tsitsipas said. “It’s been a long time so it does mean a lot to me.”
The past 16 months have been difficult by the standards Tsitsipas set earlier in his career. A former world number three and two-time Grand Slam finalist — he lost finals at the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open — he has spent much of 2025 and the early part of 2026 struggling to rediscover his best form. Results have been inconsistent, ranking points have slipped away, and the player who once felt like an inevitable future Grand Slam champion has had to be patient.
Sunday in Gstaad felt like the first clear signal that the patience is paying off. The win moves Tsitsipas 30 places up the ATP Rankings to world number 55, and it arrives at a well-timed moment in the calendar. The US Open begins on August 30, and Tsitsipas has confirmed he will be playing the ATP 1000 Canadian Open in Montreal on August 1 as part of his hard-court preparation.
For now, the Swiss Alps belong to him — and so does a renewed sense of possibility heading into the second half of a season that just got considerably more interesting.