Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away During Injury-Plagued Campaign

Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about ending his career because of debilitating spinal pain during the 2025 tennis year.

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.

Currently placed as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition since his early exit at the US Open this past summer, he stated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.

"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my body holds up under actual training with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.

"My primary worry was whether I was able to finish a match," the athlete continued, explaining the pain had troubled him "over the last half a year or more."

"I would wonder, 'Can I compete in another match pain-free?'"

"It was genuinely scary following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for two days. That is the moment begin to question your career's future."

Tsitsipas further mentioned satisfaction regarding his current recovery plan following the completion of five weeks of pre-season training without any pain.

His next appearance with the Greek team in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament takes place in Perth and Sydney in early January, just before the season's first major.

"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to stop worrying about finishing matches," he expressed.

"It is incredibly encouraging 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.

"I have done the work. The crucial element is complete faith in my ability to get back to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."