Tsitsipas on his back injury: “It was hard to wake up and get out of bed”

Stefanos Tsitsipas withdrew after the start of his second match at the ATP Finals and is still chasing full fitness ahead of the Australian Open

Jérémy Baudu

December 10, 2023

For the second time in three seasons, Stefanos Tsitsipas ended his year with a withdrawal from the ATP Finals. The 25-year-old suffered a back injury before starting the Italian tournament, losing to Jannik Sinner (6-4, 6-4) before bowing out at the start of his second group match against Holger Rune (1-2 retired).

A month later, Tsitsipas is already looking much better. The world No 6 began his pre-season work in Dubai in the company of his girlfriend and fellow pro, Paula Badosa. In comments reported by the Adelaide Advertiser, the Athens native spoke about his back injury, which left him in pain for many days after the ATP Finals.

“The injury was painful, really painful, because I wasn’t able to finish the last tournament of the year,” he said. “So it had a big impact on my body. In the days following the ATP Finals, I found it hard to wake up and get out of bed. In fact, the pain I felt for one or two weeks was very strong.

“It’s getting better, I’m getting better. I’m doing lots of things every day to reduce the pain I have as much as possible and as quickly as possible to get back to normal. It will take a little time. I’m not at 100 percent yet.”

Before arriving in Melbourne to play in the Australian Open, where he reached the final last January, Tsitsipas will play for Greece in the United Cup, in Sydney, to kick off his 2024 season. He will team up with Maria Sakkari, Stefanos Sakellaridis, Despina Papamichail, his brother Petros and Valentini Grammatikopoulou.