Stefanos Tsitsipas undergoes surgery for chronic injury, withdraws from Beijing

Stefanos Tsitsipas's challenging 2025 season has worsened after he underwent surgery for a long-standing physical issue.

The ATP Greek No. 1's last appearance was at the 2025 US Open, where he lost to Daniel Altmaier in the second round. That confirmed his failure to reach a Grand Slam third round during a season for the first time since 2017.

Tsitsipas's difficulties included retiring from his opening round at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships against Valentin Royer because of a lower back issue. The score stood at 3-6, 2-6 when he could not continue.

After the loss, Tsitsipas emotionally opened up about how chronic the lower back injury is. He has managed it for a few years, and the 2021 French Open runner-up did not rule out retiring soon if it does not improve.

Tsitsipas decided that the problem was not tenable and took drastic action to try to fix the issue. On Thursday, the 27-year-old underwent surgery, and it is estimated he will miss between two and six weeks.

That means he cannot compete at next week's 2025 China Open in Beijing. Tsitsipas was one of several notable names, including world No. 2 Jannik Sinner, on the ATP 500's entry list. The tournament also hosts a WTA 1000 event.

Although unconfirmed at this stage, Tsitsipas will probably also miss the 2025 Shanghai Masters. That begins on October 1st, meaning he would need to recover 13 days after the surgery to be ready for the start date.

According to Tennis24, Tsitsipas hopes to be ready for the 2025 Six Kings Slam, which begins on Wednesday, October 16th. The Greek was recently announced as Jack Draper's replacement after this year's Indian Wells Open champion ended his season early with an injury.

Each of the Six King Slam's six players is guaranteed $1.5 million, regardless of how they perform at the exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That might make Tsitsipas tempted to risk playing even if he is not fully recovered.

Stefanos Tsitsipas started working with Goran Ivanisevic after the 2025 French Open, but their partnership lasted a few weeks. Wimbledon and the 2025 Halle Open were their only tournaments together before splitting.

The end of their collaboration felt inevitable when Ivanisevic stunningly ripped into Tsitsipas during an interview released shortly after his Wimbledon retirement in a way that even shocked friends of the Croatian, such as Jim Courier.

Ivanisevic attacked Tsitsipas's physical state, calling him the most unfit player he has ever seen. The 2001 Wimbledon winner also accused him of talking about reaching the top, but doing nothing to actually achieve it.

Tsitsipas parted ways with Ivanisevic shortly after Wimbledon ended. Although the statement was professional and did not criticize him, it is obvious that his harsh criticism influenced the split.

The former ATP Finals champion is now working with his father again. They had a high-profile parting last year, and many thought Tsitsipas was right to move on from him, but he decided to revert to type.