Stefanos Tsitsipas Contemplated Retirement During Injury-Plagued Campaign
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
The tennis professional disclosed he thought about ending his career because of severe spinal pain throughout the season.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition since his early exit in New York in August, he stated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding positive results.
"I'm most excited lies in seeing how my training responds during regular practice with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry was whether I was able to finish a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past six to eight months."
"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 two days. That is the moment begin to question the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing five weeks of pre-season training completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete for Greece in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The competition takes place in Perth and Sydney in early January, just before the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory next season is to not have concerns about finishing matches," he expressed.
"It is incredibly encouraging realizing you completed an off-season in good health – I wish for it to last. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the team championship.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is complete faith in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will try all means to make it happen."
