Stefanos Tsitsipas Contemplated Walking Away Amid Injury-Plagued 2025 Season

Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport because of severe back issues throughout the season.

The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, finished as runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.

Now ranked as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition since his early exit in New York this past summer, he stated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.

"I'm most excited is to observe how my body responds during regular practice with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.

"The biggest fear centered on if I was able to finish a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "over the last six to eight months."

"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play another contest pain-free?'"

"I became truly frightened following the loss at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for 48 hours. That is the moment begin to question your career's future."

Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing five weeks of off-season preparation completely pain-free.

He is scheduled to compete for Greece in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament takes place across Australian cities in early January, the week preceding the season's first major.

"My main goal next season is to not have concerns 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 during the upcoming season and for the team championship.

"I have done the work. The most important thing is complete faith in my ability to get back to where I was. I will try all means to make it happen."