The Greek tennis star Seriously Considered Retirement During Injury-Plagued Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered quitting the sport because of debilitating back issues during the season.
At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, finished as runner-up against Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked 36th in the world following minimal competition since his early exit at the US Open in August, he stated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding positive results.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my body responds during actual training with regard to my injury," said Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear was whether I was able to finish a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "over the last six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete another contest without discomfort?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for 48 hours. That is the moment begin to question the path ahead."
He also reported being content with his current recovery plan after finishing an extended period of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team at the team event, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The competition will be held across Australian cities in early January, the week preceding the Australian Open.
"The greatest victory for 2026 would be to stop worrying over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you had a pre-season without pain – I wish for it to last. I aim to perform during the upcoming season and for the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief in my ability to get back to where I was. I will attempt everything to make it happen."
