Stefanos Tsitsipas Contemplated Walking Away Amid Injury-Plagued Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about ending his career because of severe 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 after a limited schedule post a second-round departure at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my training responds during regular practice with regard to my injury," said Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry was whether I could complete an encounter," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "for the past six to eight months."
"I would wonder, 'Am I able to play in another match pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for two days. That is the moment begin to question the path ahead."
He also reported satisfaction regarding 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, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The competition takes place in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory next season would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," 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.
"I have done the work. The crucial element is total belief that I can return to where I was. I will try all means to make it happen."
