Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away During Injury-Plagued 2025 Season
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
The tennis professional disclosed he thought about ending his career because of debilitating spinal pain throughout the season.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, was a finalist to Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule since his second-round departure in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment is finally showing positive results.
"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my body responds during regular practice with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear was whether I could complete a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "over the last half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest without discomfort?'"
"I became truly frightened after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for 48 hours. That's when you start reconsidering your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned satisfaction regarding the present treatment regimen following the completion of five weeks of pre-season training completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team captained by Raducanu. The competition takes place in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the season's first major.
"My main goal for 2026 would be to stop worrying about finishing matches," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback to know you had a pre-season without pain – I hope it continues. I aim to perform during the upcoming season and for the United Cup.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is complete faith in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will attempt everything to make it happen."