Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Retirement Amid Pain-Filled 2025 Season
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
The tennis professional disclosed he pondered ending his career due to severe spinal pain during the season.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, finished as runner-up against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule post a second-round departure at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my body holds up under regular practice with regard to my injury," said Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I was able to finish a match," the athlete continued, noting the injury plagued him "for the past half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest without discomfort?'"
"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."
He also reported satisfaction regarding his current recovery plan following the completion of an extended period of off-season preparation without any pain.
His next appearance with the Greek team at the team event, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The competition will be held in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the season's first major.
"The greatest victory for 2026 is to stop worrying about finishing matches," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you had an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is complete faith that I can return to where I was. I will try all means to achieve that."
