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Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about quitting the sport because of debilitating spinal pain during the 2025 tennis year.

The 27-year-old, who has reached a career-high ranking of world number three, finished as runner-up against Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.

Now ranked as the world's 36th best player after a limited schedule post a early exit in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated continuous medical care has begun yielding encouraging progress.

"My greatest anticipation lies in seeing how my body holds up under actual training with regard to my injury," commented Tsitsipas.

"My primary worry was whether I could complete an encounter," he added, noting the injury had troubled him "for the past half a year or more."

"I kept asking, 'Can I compete in another match without discomfort?'"

"It was genuinely scary after the defeat at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I was unable to walk for 48 hours. That's when you start reconsidering your career's future."

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

He is scheduled to compete for Greece at the team event, drawn against 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 Australian Open.

"My main goal next season is to stop worrying about finishing matches," he stated.

"It is incredibly encouraging to know you completed a pre-season without pain – I hope it continues. I want to deliver during the upcoming season and for the team championship.

"The effort is invested. The most important thing is total belief in my ability to get back to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."