🔗 Share this article The Greek tennis star Seriously Considered Walking Away During Injury-Plagued Campaign Stefanos Tsitsipas was the 26th seed at last year's US Open Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career because of severe back issues during the season. The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, was a finalist to Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open. Currently placed as the world's 36th best player 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 lies in seeing how my training responds during regular practice concerning my injury," commented Tsitsipas. "My primary worry was whether I was able to finish a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "over the last half a year or more." "I kept asking, 'Am I able to play another contest without discomfort?'" "I became truly frightened after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for 48 hours. That is the moment begin to question your career's future." Tsitsipas further mentioned satisfaction regarding the present treatment regimen after finishing an extended period of pre-season training completely pain-free. He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team in the United Cup, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team captained by Raducanu. The competition takes place in Perth and Sydney in early January, just before the Australian Open. "The greatest victory for 2026 would be to stop worrying about finishing matches," he stated. "It provides fantastic feedback realizing you had an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I want to deliver during the upcoming season and for the United Cup. "The effort is invested. The most important thing is complete faith in my ability to get back to where I was. I will attempt everything to make it happen."