The Greek tennis star Contemplated Walking Away Amid Pain-Filled Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career because of severe spinal pain during the 2025 tennis year.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, was a finalist to Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Currently placed as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule since his second-round departure at the US Open this past summer, he stated that ongoing treatment is finally showing encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my body responds during actual training with regard to my back," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I could complete a match," the athlete continued, noting the injury had troubled him "for the past six to eight months."
"I would wonder, 'Can I compete another contest without discomfort?'"
"It was genuinely scary following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for 48 hours. That's when you start reconsidering your career's future."
He also reported satisfaction regarding the present treatment regimen after finishing an extended period of off-season preparation without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team at the team event, drawn against Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament takes place across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the season's first major.
"My main goal next season would be to not have concerns about finishing matches," he stated.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you had an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief that I can return to where I was. I will try all means to achieve that."
