Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away During Injury-Plagued Campaign
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
The tennis professional disclosed he thought about quitting the sport because of severe spinal pain 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 alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Currently placed 36th in the world after a limited schedule since his second-round departure at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care is finally showing encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited lies in seeing how my body holds up under regular practice with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry was whether I was able to finish a match," he added, explaining the pain had troubled him "over the last six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to move for 48 hours. That is the moment start reconsidering your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned satisfaction regarding his current recovery plan after finishing an extended period of pre-season training completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team in the United Cup, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the British team captained by Raducanu. The tournament will be held in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, just before the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to stop worrying about finishing matches," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you completed an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is complete faith in my ability to get back to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
