Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Retirement Amid Pain-Filled Campaign
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
The tennis professional disclosed he pondered ending his career due to debilitating back issues during the season.
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 following minimal competition post a second-round departure in New York in August, he stated that ongoing treatment is finally showing positive results.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my body holds up under regular practice concerning my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear was whether I could complete an encounter," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "for the past half a year or more."
"I would wonder, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"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 is the moment start reconsidering the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with the present treatment regimen following the completion of five weeks of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team captained by Raducanu. The tournament takes place across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, just before the season's first major.
"The greatest victory for 2026 is to not have concerns over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you had an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I aim to perform during the upcoming season and for 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 achieve that."
