I Stopped Enjoying the Game Last Year – Tennis Now
By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Photo credit: Matthew Calvis
A painful back issue and premature endings took the pleasure out of tennis for Stefanos Tsitsipas last season.
World No. 32 Tsitsipas is intent on finding his form—and regaining the joy of playing—this season.
Speaking to Nicholas Albek of Bolavip in an exclusive interview after his 7-5, 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Arthur Rinderknech in Rotterdam today, Tsitsipas said his back injury was so bad at one point last season he felt more like a spectator than a player on the ATP Tour.
“Well, I had a big period without playing tennis, which I never had before during my career. I felt like I was away from the court and the competition, and all of a sudden I was just an observer of tennis and the ATP Tour instead of being a participant.”
“It did feel very odd and frustrating, because I couldn`t do much,” Tsitsipas told Nicholas Albek of Bolavip. “My back is like it is and there are only a certain amount of things I can do, but if my back refuses to get better and refuses to heal, the only thing I can do is wait and visit as many doctors as possible who are specialists in this area.”
The former world No. 3 was so pained by the back issue, he failed to surpass the second round in his final nine tournament appearances of 2025. After bowing to Daniel Altmaier 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7 at the 2025 US Open, Tsitsipas played just two matches, both Davis Cup contests, before pulling the plug on 2025.
The 27-year-old Tsitsipas started the 2025 season ranked No. 11, but has fallen to No. 32 in the rankings after battling the back injury that saw the former French Open and Australian Open finalist fail to surpass the second round at all four Grand Slams last season.
Tsitsipas said he’s encouraged he was able to train in December without pain and is hopeful he will be pain free during tournament play this year.
The Greek is already off to a 7-2 start in 2026, including victories over Taylor Fritz and Rinderknech.
The question for Tsitsipas, who faces Botic van der Zandschulp in Rotterdam next, is can he stay healthy and play with positivity?
Tsitsipas said time will tell.
“I had a lot of uncertainty for many months. I have had it for a while, even when I won the tournament in Dubai,” Tsitsipas said. “I was not sure if I could sustain that level or even keep playing. It kept getting worse during the spring, so I stopped enjoying the game.
“The game becomes less important and health becomes the most important thing in your life, but even early this year I still had a lot of uncertainty about my future
