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Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport due to severe spinal pain 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.

Currently placed as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule since his early exit in New York in August, he stated that ongoing treatment has begun yielding encouraging progress.

"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my body responds during actual training with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.

"The biggest fear was whether I could complete an encounter," the athlete continued, explaining the pain plagued him "over the last half a year or more."

"I would wonder, 'Am I able to play in another match pain-free?'"

"I became truly frightened following the loss in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for 48 hours. That is the moment start reconsidering your career's future."

He also reported being content with his current recovery plan after finishing an extended period of off-season preparation completely pain-free.

His next appearance for Greece at the team event, drawn against Team Japan led by Osaka and the British team captained by Raducanu. The competition will be held across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, just before the season's first major.

"My main goal for 2026 would be to not have concerns over completing bouts," he expressed.

"It provides fantastic feedback to know you completed an off-season in good health – I hope it continues. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the team championship.

"The effort is invested. The most important thing is complete faith that I can return to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."