The Greek tennis star Seriously Considered Walking Away During Pain-Filled Campaign
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career because of debilitating back issues throughout the season.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule post a early exit in New York this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding positive results.
"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my training holds up under actual training concerning my back," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear was whether I could complete a match," he added, explaining the pain had troubled him "for the past half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to move for two days. That is the moment begin to question your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with the present treatment regimen following the completion of five weeks of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
His next appearance with the Greek team at the team event, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The competition will be held in Perth and Sydney in early January, the week preceding the season's first major.
"The greatest victory next season would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," he stated.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you completed a pre-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the team championship.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is total belief in my ability to get back to where I was. I will try all means to achieve that."
