The Greek tennis star Contemplated Walking Away Amid Pain-Filled 2025 Season
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport because of debilitating 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 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, he stated continuous medical care has begun yielding positive results.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my training holds up under actual training with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I could complete an encounter," the athlete continued, noting the injury plagued him "over the last six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play in another match without discomfort?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for 48 hours. That's when you start reconsidering the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing five weeks of pre-season training without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete for Greece at the team event, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The competition will be held across Australian cities in early January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"My main goal next season is to not have concerns about finishing matches," he stated.
"It is incredibly encouraging realizing you had a pre-season in good health – I wish for it to last. I want to deliver during the upcoming season and for the United Cup.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is complete faith in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will try all means to achieve that."
