Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away During Injury-Plagued Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career because of severe back issues throughout 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.
Now ranked as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule post a second-round departure in New York in August, he stated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my training responds during regular practice concerning my back," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear was whether I could complete an encounter," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "over the last six to eight months."
"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play another contest without discomfort?'"
"I became truly frightened after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for 48 hours. That is the moment begin to question the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with the present treatment regimen after finishing an extended period of off-season preparation completely pain-free.
His next appearance for Greece at the team event, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan 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.
"My main goal next season is to not have concerns about finishing matches," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback realizing you had a pre-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver during the upcoming season and for the team championship.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is complete faith that I can return to where I was. I will attempt everything to make it happen."
