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

At 27 years old, the player once ranked as high as third globally, was a finalist against Novak Djokovic at both the 2021 French Open alongside the 2023 Australian Open.

Now ranked 36th in the world following minimal competition since his early exit in New York in August, Tsitsipas indicated that ongoing treatment is finally showing positive results.

"My greatest anticipation is to observe how my training holds up under actual training with regard to my back," commented Tsitsipas.

"The biggest fear was whether I could complete a match," he added, explaining the pain had troubled him "for the past half a year or more."

"I kept asking, 'Am I able to play another contest without discomfort?'"

"It was genuinely scary following the loss at the US Open [to Germany's Daniel Altmaier]. I could not to move for two days. That is the moment begin to question your career's future."

He also reported being content with the present treatment regimen following the completion of an extended period of pre-season training without any pain.

He is scheduled to compete for Greece at the team event, drawn against Team Japan led by Osaka and the British team led by Emma Raducanu. The competition takes place across Australian cities in early January, the week preceding the season's first major.

"The greatest victory next season would be to stop worrying about finishing matches," he stated.

"It is incredibly encouraging 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.

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