Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced to retire from his Wimbledon first-round match against French qualifier Valentin Royer due to a persistent back injury.
The 24th seed and former world number three was trailing 6-3, 6-2 when he withdrew, later admitting to reporters, “I’m battling many wars these days. It’s really painful to see myself in a situation like this.”
Tsitsipas revealed he has been struggling with the injury since withdrawing from the ATP Tour Finals in 2023. Despite his win in Dubai earlier this year, the problem has persisted, impacting both his performance and his rankings.
“I feel like I’m left without answers. I don’t know. I’ve tried everything,” he said, adding, “Right now, I’m just absolutely left with no answers.”
He described the issue as the most challenging of his career and hinted at a looming decision about his future in the sport.
“Tennis is a rotational sport, and if you can’t rotate, then there’s no reason playing it,” he admitted.
Tsitsipas recently began working with Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic’s former coach, and expressed regret he couldn’t display his full potential.
With only one quarter-final appearance in his last nine Grand Slam outings, his participation in the upcoming US Open is now in doubt.
Source: msn.com
