Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Retirement Amid Injury-Plagued Campaign

Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about ending his career because of severe back issues throughout the 2025 tennis year.

At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist to Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.

Now ranked as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition post a second-round departure in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care is finally showing encouraging progress.

"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my body responds during regular practice with regard to my injury," said Tsitsipas.

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

"I would wonder, '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 your career's future."

Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan after finishing five weeks of pre-season training completely pain-free.

His next appearance with the Greek team in the United Cup, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The competition will be held in Perth and Sydney in early January, just before the season's first major.

"The greatest victory next season is to not have concerns about finishing matches," he stated.

"It is incredibly encouraging realizing you completed a pre-season without pain – I wish for it to last. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the team championship.

"The effort is invested. The crucial element is complete faith in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will try all means to achieve that."