The Greek tennis star Contemplated Retirement During Pain-Filled Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about ending his career because of debilitating 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 to Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Currently placed as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule post a second-round departure in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding positive results.
"I'm most excited lies in seeing how my body responds during regular practice with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I could complete an encounter," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "over the last half a year or more."
"I would wonder, 'Can I compete another contest 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's when you 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.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team in the United Cup, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The tournament will be held in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, just before the Australian Open.
"My main goal for 2026 is to not have concerns over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you had an off-season without pain – I wish for it to last. I want to deliver during the upcoming season and for the United Cup.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is total belief in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
