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 throughout the 2025 tennis year.
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 this past summer, he stated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited lies in seeing how my body holds up under regular practice with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry was whether I was able to finish an encounter," the athlete continued, explaining the pain plagued him "over the last six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete in another match without discomfort?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for 48 hours. That is the moment begin to question your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned satisfaction regarding the present treatment regimen following the completion of five weeks of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
His next appearance for Greece at the team event, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The competition takes place in Perth and Sydney in early January, just before the season's first major.
"The greatest victory next season would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It is incredibly encouraging realizing you completed an off-season without pain – I hope it continues. I aim to perform in 2026 and at 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 try all means to make it happen."
