Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away Amid Pain-Filled Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career because of debilitating spinal pain throughout the 2025 tennis year.
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 36th in the world following minimal competition since his early exit at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care is finally showing positive results.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my body responds during actual training concerning my back," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I could complete an encounter," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for 48 hours. That is the moment start reconsidering the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing an extended period of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team at the team event, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team captained by Raducanu. The tournament will be held across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, just before the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It is incredibly encouraging realizing you completed an off-season in good health – I wish for it to last. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is complete faith that I can return to where I was. I will attempt everything to make it happen."
