Stefanos Tsitsipas Contemplated Walking Away During Injury-Plagued 2025 Season
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport because of debilitating spinal pain during the season.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition post a early exit in New York this past summer, he stated that ongoing treatment is finally showing encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my training holds up under actual training with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I could complete a match," the athlete continued, noting the injury had troubled him "over the last half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for 48 hours. That's when you start reconsidering the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned satisfaction regarding his current recovery plan after finishing five weeks of pre-season training without any pain.
His next appearance with the Greek team in the United Cup, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The competition takes place across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, just before the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback to know you had a pre-season in good health – I wish for it to last. I aim to perform during the upcoming season and for the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The crucial element is complete faith in my ability to get back to where I was. I will try all means to achieve that."
