Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away Amid Pain-Filled 2025 Season
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
The tennis professional disclosed he pondered ending his career due to severe spinal pain throughout the 2025 tennis year.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist to Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule post a second-round departure at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care is finally showing encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my body holds up under regular practice with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I was able to finish a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "over the last six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play in another match pain-free?'"
"It was genuinely scary 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 the path ahead."
He also reported being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing five weeks of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
His next appearance for Greece in the United Cup, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the British team captained by Raducanu. The tournament will be held across Australian cities in early January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"My main goal for 2026 is to not have concerns about finishing matches," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you completed an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief in my ability to get back to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."