The Greek tennis star Contemplated Walking Away Amid Injury-Plagued Campaign
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport due to debilitating spinal pain throughout the 2025 tennis year.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, finished as runner-up against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked 36th in the world after a limited schedule since his early exit at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my training responds during actual training with regard to my back," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear was whether I could complete an encounter," he added, noting the injury plagued him "for the past half a year or more."
"I would wonder, 'Am I able to play another contest without discomfort?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for two days. That is the moment start reconsidering the path ahead."
He also reported being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing an extended period of pre-season training without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The competition will be held across Australian cities in early January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to stop worrying over completing bouts," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback to know you had an off-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the team championship.
"I have done the work. The crucial element is complete faith that I can return to my previous level. I will attempt everything to achieve that."