Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Retirement Amid Pain-Filled Campaign

Stefanos Tsitsipas in action

Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open

The tennis professional disclosed he pondered ending his career because of debilitating spinal pain throughout the 2025 tennis year.

The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, finished as runner-up against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.

Currently placed as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition since his second-round departure at the US Open this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.

"I'm most excited is to observe how my training holds up under regular practice with regard to my back," said Tsitsipas.

"The biggest fear was whether I could complete an encounter," he added, explaining the pain had troubled him "for the past half a year or more."

"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play in another match without discomfort?'"

"It was genuinely scary following the loss at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for two days. That's when you begin to question the path ahead."

He also reported being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing five weeks of pre-season training completely pain-free.

He is scheduled to compete for Greece at the team event, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament will be held across Australian cities in early January, the week preceding the Australian Open.

"The greatest victory for 2026 is to not have concerns about finishing matches," he expressed.

"It is incredibly encouraging to know you had a pre-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver in 2026 and at the United Cup.

"I have done the work. The most important thing is total belief that I can return to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."

Victoria Prince
Victoria Prince

Elara Vance is a seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in casino strategy development and player psychology.