The Greek tennis star Seriously Considered Retirement During Pain-Filled 2025 Season
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
The tennis professional disclosed he thought about ending his career because of severe spinal pain during 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 alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked 36th in the world following minimal competition post a early exit at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding positive results.
"I'm most excited lies in seeing 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 "for the past six to eight months."
"I would wonder, 'Can I compete another contest pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for 48 hours. That's when you start reconsidering the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan following the completion of an extended period of off-season preparation without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team at the team event, drawn against Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The competition will be held across Australian cities in early January, just before the season's first major.
"My main goal next season would be to not have concerns about finishing matches," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you had an off-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the team championship.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is complete faith that I can return to where I was. I will try all means to achieve that."