Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away During Injury-Plagued 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 severe spinal pain throughout the season.
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.
Currently placed as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition post a second-round departure in New York this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my training responds during actual training concerning my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry was whether I was able to finish an encounter," the athlete continued, explaining the pain plagued him "over the last six to eight months."
"I would wonder, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for two days. That's when you start reconsidering the path ahead."
He also reported being content with the present treatment regimen following the completion of an extended period of pre-season training without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete for Greece at the team event, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The competition will be held in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, just before the season's first major.
"My main goal next season would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback to know you had an off-season in good health – I wish for it to last. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"The effort is invested. The crucial element is complete faith that I can return to where I was. I will try all means to achieve that."
