The Greek tennis star Seriously Considered Retirement During Pain-Filled 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 back issues throughout the season.
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 following minimal competition post a second-round departure in New York this past summer, he stated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my training holds up under actual training concerning my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I could complete a match," the athlete continued, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to move for two days. That's when you begin to question the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan following the completion of five weeks of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
His next appearance for Greece in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The competition will be held across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, just before the season's first major.
"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to stop worrying about finishing matches," he stated.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you had an off-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver during the upcoming season and for the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief in my ability to get back to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
