Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away During Pain-Filled Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career due to severe back issues during the 2025 tennis year.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Currently placed 36th in the world after a limited schedule since his early exit at the US Open this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my body responds during actual training with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I could complete an encounter," the athlete continued, noting the injury had troubled him "over the last half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play in another match without discomfort?'"
"I became truly frightened after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for two days. That is the moment begin to question your career's future."
He also reported being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing an extended period of pre-season training completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete for Greece at the team event, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament will be held in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the season's first major.
"The greatest victory next season would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you completed an off-season without pain – I hope it continues. I aim to perform during the upcoming season and for the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will attempt everything to make it happen."
