The Greek tennis star Contemplated Retirement Amid 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 because of severe back issues during the 2025 tennis year.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, finished as runner-up 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 early exit in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited lies in seeing how my body holds up under actual training concerning my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I was able to finish an encounter," he added, noting the injury plagued him "over the last half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play another contest pain-free?'"
"It was genuinely scary following the loss at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for 48 hours. That is the moment start reconsidering your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan following the completion of five weeks of off-season preparation without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team at the team event, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament takes place in Perth and Sydney in early January, just before the season's first major.
"My main goal for 2026 would be to stop worrying over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It is incredibly encouraging 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.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is complete faith that I can return to my previous level. I will try all means to make it happen."
