The Greek tennis star Contemplated Retirement Amid Injury-Plagued 2025 Season
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
The tennis professional disclosed he pondered ending his career due to debilitating spinal pain during the 2025 tennis year.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, finished as runner-up against Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule post a early exit at the US Open in August, he stated continuous medical care is finally showing encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my body responds during actual training concerning my injury," said Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I was able to finish a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "over the last six to eight months."
"I kept asking, '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 48 hours. That's when you begin to question the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with the present treatment regimen following the completion of an extended period of pre-season training without any pain.
His next appearance with the Greek team in the United Cup, drawn against Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The tournament will be held across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"My main goal for 2026 would be to stop worrying over completing bouts," he stated.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you completed a pre-season without pain – I hope it continues. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The crucial element is complete faith in my ability to get back to where I was. I will try all means to achieve that."
