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Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about ending his career because of debilitating back issues throughout the season.

The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.

Now ranked 36th in the world after a limited schedule since his early exit at the US Open in August, Tsitsipas indicated 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," said Tsitsipas.

"My primary worry centered on if I could complete a match," the athlete continued, noting the injury plagued him "for the past six to eight months."

"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play in another match pain-free?'"

"I became truly frightened after the defeat in Flushing Meadows [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for two days. That's when you start reconsidering your career's future."

Tsitsipas further mentioned satisfaction regarding the present treatment regimen following the completion of five weeks of off-season preparation completely pain-free.

His next appearance with the Greek team at the team event, drawn against Team Japan led by Osaka and the Great Britain squad led by Emma Raducanu. The tournament 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 stated.

"It provides fantastic feedback to know you had a pre-season in good health – I hope it continues. I aim to perform during the upcoming season and for the team championship.

"I have done the work. The most important thing is complete faith in my ability to get back to my previous level. I will try all means to make it happen."