The Greek tennis star Contemplated 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 debilitating spinal pain throughout the 2025 tennis year.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Currently placed as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule since his second-round departure at the US Open this past summer, he stated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited lies in seeing how my body holds up under regular practice concerning my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry was whether I could complete a match," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "over the last half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for two days. That's when you start reconsidering your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with the present treatment regimen following the completion of five weeks of off-season preparation without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team at the team event, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The competition will be held across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to not have concerns about finishing matches," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback to know you completed a pre-season in good health – I hope it continues. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the team championship.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is total belief that I can return to my previous level. I will attempt everything to make it happen."
