Stefanos Tsitsipas Seriously Considered Walking Away Amid Injury-Plagued Campaign
The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport because of debilitating spinal pain during the season.
The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.
Currently placed as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule post a early exit in New York this past summer, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment is finally showing encouraging progress.
"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my body responds during actual training with regard to my injury," said Tsitsipas.
"The biggest fear centered on if I could complete a match," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "over the last half a year or more."
"I would wonder, 'Am I able to play another contest pain-free?'"
"I became truly frightened following the loss at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for 48 hours. That is the moment start reconsidering the path ahead."
Tsitsipas further mentioned being content with his current recovery plan following the completion of five weeks of pre-season training without any pain.
His next appearance with the Greek team in the United Cup, drawn against Naomi Osaka's Japan and the Great Britain squad captained by Raducanu. The tournament takes place in Perth and Sydney in early January, just before the season's first major.
"My main goal next season is to not have concerns over completing bouts," he stated.
"It provides fantastic feedback to know you completed a pre-season in good health – I wish for it to last. I aim to perform during the upcoming season and for 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 make it happen."