The Greek tennis star Seriously Considered Retirement During Pain-Filled 2025 Season
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport because of severe back issues during the 2025 tennis year.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist to Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked 36th in the world following minimal competition since his second-round departure in New York this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited lies in seeing how my training responds during actual training with regard to my injury," said Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I was able to finish an encounter," the athlete continued, noting the injury had troubled him "for the past half a year or more."
"I would wonder, 'Can I compete another contest without discomfort?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for two days. That is the moment start reconsidering your career's future."
He also reported satisfaction regarding his current recovery plan after finishing an extended period of pre-season training without any pain.
His next appearance for Greece in the United Cup, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The tournament takes place across Australian cities in early January, just before the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory next season is to stop worrying over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you completed a pre-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"I have done the work. The crucial element is total belief in my ability to get back to where I was. I will try all means to make it happen."
