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 thought about ending his career due to debilitating spinal pain 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 36th in the world after a limited schedule post a second-round departure at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment is finally showing encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my body holds up under regular practice with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry was whether I was able to finish an encounter," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "over the last six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Can I compete in another match without discomfort?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to move for two days. That is the moment begin to question your career's future."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan following the completion of an extended period of pre-season training without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team in the United Cup, drawn against Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The tournament will be held in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, the week preceding the season's first major.
"The greatest victory next season is to stop worrying about finishing matches," he expressed.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you had a pre-season in good health – I wish for it to last. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is complete faith in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will try all means to make it happen."
