The Greek tennis star Seriously Considered Retirement Amid Injury-Plagued Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he pondered ending his career due to 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 in the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
Now ranked 36th in the world after a limited schedule post a second-round departure in New York this past summer, he stated continuous medical care is finally showing encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited is to observe how my training responds during regular practice concerning my injury," commented Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear was whether I could complete an encounter," the athlete continued, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past half a year or more."
"I would wonder, 'Am I able to play in another match pain-free?'"
"It was genuinely scary after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to move for 48 hours. That's when you begin to question your career's future."
He also reported satisfaction regarding the present treatment regimen after finishing an extended period of off-season preparation without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete with the Greek team at the team event, where they face Naomi Osaka's Japan and the British team captained by Raducanu. The tournament takes place across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, just before the season's first major.
"The greatest victory next season would be to stop worrying over completing bouts," he stated.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you completed an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief that I can return to my previous level. I will try all means to achieve that."