Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away Amid Injury-Plagued Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
The tennis professional disclosed he pondered ending his career because of severe spinal pain during the season.
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 since his second-round departure in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding positive results.
"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my body holds up under regular practice with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry was whether I could complete a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest without discomfort?'"
"It was genuinely scary following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for two days. That's when you begin to question your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan after finishing an extended period of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete for Greece at the team event, where they face Team Japan led by Osaka and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament will be held across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the season's first major.
"The greatest victory next season is to not have concerns about finishing matches," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback to know you had an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is complete faith in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
