Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Retirement During Injury-Plagued 2025 Season
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport due to severe back issues during the season.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, was a finalist to Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked 36th in the world following minimal competition since his second-round departure at the US Open this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment is finally showing encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my training holds up under regular practice with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I could complete a match," the athlete continued, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete in another match without discomfort?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for 48 hours. That's when you start reconsidering your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan following the completion of five weeks of pre-season training completely pain-free.
His next appearance with the Greek team in the United Cup, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament takes place in Perth and Sydney in early January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you had an off-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief that I can return to my previous level. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
