Stefanos Tsitsipas Contemplated Retirement During Injury-Plagued Campaign
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career due to debilitating back issues during the 2025 tennis year.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, finished as runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule since his early exit in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care is finally showing encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my body responds during actual training with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I could complete an encounter," he added, explaining the pain had troubled him "for the past six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for 48 hours. 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.
His next appearance for Greece at the team event, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team captained by Raducanu. The competition takes place across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, just before the Australian Open.
"My main goal next season is to stop worrying over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you had a pre-season in good health – I wish for it to last. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"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 make it happen."
