The back issues Stefanos Tsitsipas fought in the second half of the 2025 season were so serious that the Greek tennis star wondered about the future of his playing career.
The former world No. 3 and current world No. 36 retired from his opening Wimbledon match against French qualifier Valentin Royer after receiving medical attention for his back. He continued to struggle with severe pain, including after a second-round loss to Germany’s Daniel Altmaier at the U.S. Open in late August before withdrawing from the Davis Cup in September.
“I got really scared after my U.S. Open loss with my back, because I just couldn’t walk for two days,” Tsitsipas told reporters Thursday at Team Greece’s press conference ahead of the 2026 season-opening United Cup. “When things like that happen, you start reconsidering the future of your career. I’m just hoping 2026 doesn’t bring any of that.”
The 27-year-old Tsitsipas went 22-18 (counting two retirements) in 2025 despite the back issues that haunted him for what he said was the past six to eight months.
“When you see yourself unhealthy and in such a dark and bad state constantly, not just a week or two, a lot of things cross your mind and your future flashes in front of you in terms of how you see yourself in a couple of months from now,” Tsitsipas said.
“I’d just rather put an end to it if it ends up going towards this route, than just constantly suffer. I just want to be happy in the way I live my life, and if I’m not able to compete, then one day I guess I’ll have to put a stop to it. But I don’t want this to happen. I want to continue for at least 10 more years.”
A 12-time tour-level champion, Tsitsipas said he is encouraged by ongoing medical treatment that’s helped him arrive in Perth, Australia for the United Cup after completing five weeks of offseason training without pain.
“The thing that I’m most excited about is trying to see my actual training that I’ve been putting in the last couple of weeks and how it responds in regards also to my back, because my biggest concern has been: can I actually finish a match?” Tsitsipas told reporters.
“I did all the necessary actions and took all the necessary steps to rehabilitate and get back to what I remember myself being back at. So now, so far I think it makes for great feedback, knowing that I’ve done my whole preseason without any pain, without any discomfort.”
Tsitsipas, who was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open, will face Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki as his first test for 2026 Thursday. He is co-leading Team Greece with Maria Sakkari, who opens the tournament against Naomi Osaka.
“I want to deliver for 2026 and the United Cup,” Tsitsipas said. “I put in the work. The most important thing is full belief that I can come back to where I was. I will try everything to do that.”
–Field Level Media
