The Greek tennis star Contemplated Walking Away Amid Injury-Plagued 2025 Season
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career because of severe back issues during 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.
Currently placed as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition post a early exit at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my body responds during regular practice concerning my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I was able to finish an encounter," the athlete continued, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past six to eight months."
"I would wonder, 'Am I able to play in another match pain-free?'"
"It was genuinely scary 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."
He also reported being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing five weeks of pre-season training completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete for Greece in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The competition will be held in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, just before the Australian Open.
"My main goal next season is to not have concerns over completing bouts," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you completed a pre-season in good health – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"The effort is invested. The crucial element is complete faith that I can return to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
