Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Retirement During Injury-Plagued Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport because of debilitating spinal pain during the season.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, was a finalist to Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule post a second-round departure in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my training responds during actual training with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I could complete a match," the athlete continued, explaining the pain had troubled him "for the past six to eight months."
"I would wonder, 'Can I compete in another match without discomfort?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for 48 hours. That's when you begin to question your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan following the completion of an extended period of pre-season training without any pain.
His next appearance with the Greek team in the United Cup, drawn against Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The tournament takes place across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, just before the season's first major.
"The greatest victory next season is to stop worrying over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you completed a pre-season without pain – I wish for it to last. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the team championship.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is complete faith that I can return to my previous level. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
