Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away During Injury-Plagued Campaign
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open
The tennis professional disclosed he thought about quitting the sport because of debilitating spinal pain during the season.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, finished as runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open alongside 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, he stated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my training holds up under actual training with regard to my injury," said Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I could complete an encounter," the athlete continued, noting the injury plagued him "over the last half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest without discomfort?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for two days. That's when you start reconsidering the path ahead."
He also reported satisfaction regarding his current recovery plan after finishing five weeks of pre-season training without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete for Greece at the team event, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament will be held across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback to know you had an off-season in good health – I wish for it to last. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief that I can return to my previous level. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
