The Greek tennis star Contemplated Retirement During Pain-Filled 2025 Season

Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career because of severe back issues during the 2025 tennis year.

The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.

Currently placed 36th in the world following minimal competition since his second-round departure in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment 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 an encounter," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past six to eight months."

"I would wonder, 'Am I able to play in another match pain-free?'"

"I became truly frightened after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for 48 hours. That's when you start reconsidering your career's future."

He also reported satisfaction regarding the present treatment regimen after finishing five weeks of pre-season training without any pain.

He is scheduled to compete for Greece at the team event, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The competition takes place in Perth and Sydney in early January, the week preceding the Australian Open.

"My main goal for 2026 is to stop worrying over completing bouts," he expressed.

"It is incredibly encouraging to know you completed an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the United Cup.

"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will attempt everything to achieve that."