Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed that he considered retiring from tennis in 2025.The Greek star hasn’t played an official match since September owing to a back injury ahead of the Australian Open, which starts later this month.Tsitsipas won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship in 2025AFPA back issue forced the former World No. 3 to retire mid-match at Wimbledon earlier this year.Tsitsipas was two sets down against Valentin Royer in the first round of the historic tournament, but retired after receiving on-court treatment from his physio.The 27-year-old is now back in action at the United Cup in Australia, but admitted he was left wondering whether he’d ever play again without pain.He told BBC: “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, how it responds in regards also to my back, because my biggest concern has been, ‘Can I actually finish a match?’“That was what was going through my mind the last six to eight months.“I was constantly thinking, if I win a match, will I be able to come back the next day and play another match without pain?”Tsitsipas hasn’t competed since Greece’s defeat to Brazil at the Davis Cup in Brazil, with the loss coming shortly after a US Open second round exit at the hands of Daniel Altmaier.Tsitsipas retirement admissionAnd Tsitsipas revealed that he considered walking away from the sport as back issues took their toll.“I got really scared after my US Open loss with my back, because I just couldn’t walk for two days,” he added.“When things like that happen, you start reconsidering the future of your career.”Stefanos Tsitsipas has played an official tennis match since SeptemberAnd the World No. 36 revealed that his ‘wish’ for 2026 is to be able to finish matches, stating: “I’m just hoping 2026 doesn’t bring any of that.“I went to actually visit one of the best sports doctors in the world, and he so far is promising to heal me.“I’m hoping this stays for 2026. That’s my biggest wish for 2026, is to finish matches and not have to think about any issues regarding my back.”So far, so goodTsitsipas has managed to complete five weeks of pre-season training without any pain, and he’ll put his body to the test in the United Cup in Australia.He’ll represent Greece in Perth alongside younger brother Petros, Stefanos Sakellaridis, Maria Sakkari, Despina Papamichail and Sapfo Sakellaridi.Greece have been drawn alongside Japan and Great Britain, the latter of which are captained by Tim Henman.Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates scoring a point in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.AFPAfter considering retirement, Tsitsipas is still keen to compete for as long as he can, but won’t compromise his long-term health for his career.“When you see yourself unhealthy and in such a dark, bad state constantly, and not just a week or two, a lot of things cross your mind,” Tsitsipas remarked.“A lot of your future flashes in front of you of how you see yourself in a couple of months from now. These things did occur.“There were phases during the year where I was asking myself, ‘Why am I doing this, and why am I putting myself through so much pain?’“Pain is not an enjoyable thing when you’re an athlete and especially when it keeps coming back and reverting constantly.“It’s one of those things that at the end to me is much more important to be happy and pain-free than struggling through the sport I love with pain.Tsitsipas last reached a Grand Slam final at the 2023 Australian OpenGetty“I’d just rather put an end to it if it ends up going towards this route than just like constantly suffer.“To answer your question, I just want to be happy in the way I live my life. If I’m not able to compete, one day I guess I’ll have to put a stop at it. I don’t want this to happen.“I want to continue hopefully for ten more years. That would be amazing. That would be a dream of mine.“Yeah, tennis has given me so much. It’s tough to also put a stop to it. It messes up with your mind a lot.”