The athlete entered the previous US Open as the 26th seed.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed he thought about ending his career due to debilitating spinal pain throughout 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 and the 2023 Australian Open.
Currently placed as the world's 36th best player following minimal competition since his second-round departure at the US Open this past summer, he stated that ongoing treatment is finally showing encouraging progress.
"I'm most excited lies in seeing how my training responds during actual training concerning my back," said Tsitsipas.
"My primary worry centered on if I was able to finish a match," he added, explaining the pain plagued him "for the past half a year or more."
"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play in another match pain-free?'"
"It was genuinely scary following the loss at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to walk for 48 hours. That's when you begin to question your career's future."
He also reported being content with his current recovery plan after finishing five weeks of pre-season training without any pain.
He is scheduled to compete 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 competition takes place across Australian cities from 2 to 11 January, just before the season's first major.
"My main goal next season would be to stop worrying over completing bouts," he expressed.
"It is incredibly encouraging to know you completed an off-season without pain – I wish for it to last. I aim to perform in 2026 and at the United Cup.
"I have done the work. The most important thing is complete faith that I can return to where I was. I will attempt everything to achieve that."
Elara is a financial strategist with over a decade of experience in wealth management and entrepreneurship.
