The Greek tennis star 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 quitting the sport due to debilitating spinal pain during the season.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist to Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked 36th in the world following minimal competition post a early exit at the US Open this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my training holds up under actual training with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I could complete a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past half a year or more."
"I would wonder, 'Am I able to play another contest pain-free?'"
"It was genuinely scary following the loss 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."
He also reported being content with the present treatment regimen following the completion of five weeks of pre-season training without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete for Greece in the United Cup, drawn against Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The competition takes place in Perth and Sydney in early January, just before the Australian Open.
"My main goal for 2026 would be to not have concerns about finishing matches," he stated.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you had an off-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The crucial element is complete faith in my ability to get back to where I was. I will try all means to achieve that."
