The Greek tennis star Seriously Considered Walking Away During 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 back issues during the 2025 tennis year.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked 36th in the world after a limited schedule since his second-round departure at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care is finally showing encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my body holds up under actual training with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I could complete a match," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "for the past half a year or more."
"I would wonder, 'Am I able to play another contest without discomfort?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for two days. That is the moment begin to question your career's future."
He also reported satisfaction regarding his current recovery plan following the completion of five weeks of pre-season training completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete for Greece in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament will be held in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory next season would be to not have concerns about finishing matches," he expressed.
"It is incredibly encouraging realizing you completed a pre-season without pain – I wish for it to last. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The crucial element is total belief in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will try all means to make it happen."
