Stefanos Tsitsipas Contemplated Retirement Amid Injury-Plagued 2025 Season
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about ending his career due to severe spinal pain throughout the 2025 tennis year.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, finished as runner-up against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition post a early exit in New York this past summer, he stated that ongoing treatment is finally showing encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my training holds up under regular practice concerning my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear was whether I was able to finish a match," the athlete continued, noting the injury had troubled him "over the last six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play another contest without discomfort?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss 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."
He also reported satisfaction regarding his current recovery plan after finishing an extended period of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
His next appearance with the Greek team at the team event, drawn against 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 stated.
"It is incredibly encouraging realizing 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 most important thing is total belief in my ability to get back to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
