The Greek tennis star Seriously Considered Walking Away During Injury-Plagued Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport due to debilitating back issues 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 alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Currently placed as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition since his early exit in New York this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding positive results.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my body responds during actual training with regard to my back," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry was whether I was able to finish an encounter," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest without discomfort?'"
"I became truly frightened after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for 48 hours. That is the moment start reconsidering the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan following the completion of an extended period of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
His next appearance for Greece at the team event, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team captained by Raducanu. The competition takes place across Australian cities in early January, just before the season's first major.
"The greatest victory next season is to not have concerns over completing bouts," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback to know you had a pre-season without pain – I wish for it to last. I want to deliver during the upcoming season and for the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The crucial element is total belief in my ability to get back to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
