Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away During 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 due to severe back issues throughout 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.
Currently placed 36th in the world after a limited schedule since his early exit in New York this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding positive results.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my body holds up under regular practice concerning my injury," said Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I could complete an encounter," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "for the past six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to move for 48 hours. That is the moment start reconsidering the path ahead."
He also reported being content with his current recovery plan following the completion of five weeks of pre-season training completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team at the team event, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team captained by Raducanu. The tournament will be held in Perth and Sydney in early January, just before the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory for 2026 is to not have concerns over completing bouts," he stated.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you had an off-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 that I can return to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
