Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled throughout the 2024 season, and now he has opened up more about his issues.
The Greek was one of the most consistent players on the ATP Tour at the start of the 2024 season. He finished the year either fourth or six every time from 2019, winning nine trophies across five seasons.
But this season was different. His fourth-round loss at the Australian Open might have signalled that this year wouldn't be easy for Tsitsipas, and those signals shone even brighter after he won only two matches during the Sunshine Doubles (Indian Wells and Miami).
At the start of the clay-court part of the season, his record stood at 11-6 without a single trophy, which was not an ideal mark for a Top 10 player.
Surprisingly, after a week of play at the Monte-Carlo Masters, it was Tsitsipas who emerged as a champion, beating the likes of Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, and Jannik Sinner along the way to lift the trophy.
Speaking on Instagram recently, as per Tennis365, Tsitsipas revealed that coming into the first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, he had no clue if he would be able to lift the trophy again.
"The most surprising thing was going to Monte Carlo and winning the title there again because, inside, I wasn’t 100% sure if I could do it because of everything that was happening."
Although the Greek player won the Monte-Carlo Masters, he wasn't able to follow up on that success in the remainder of the season, which he ended with 45 wins and 22 losses, ranked 11th in the world.
He missed out on the ATP Finals for the first time since he won the tournament on his debut in 2019, something he admitted was a very humbling experience for him.
Although it was clear that Tsitsipas' level wasn't where he wanted it to be, no one knew what was happening behind closed doors, and he now shed a bit more life on his situation.
Speaking to his fans, the 26-year-old player admitted that during this season, there were moments when he wasn't sure whether he would be able to continue playing tennis.
"If I have to say something about this year, it’s that I’m very proud of what I’m doing now, because my mind has had some very difficult moments this year and I wasn’t sure if I could continue playing tennis."
Tsitsipas was very honest, and he also admitted that, at one point, tennis didn't matter to him anymore. The tournaments that he was playing didn't matter to him either, but he managed to get out of it.
"Tennis wasn’t important to me anymore, going to tournaments wasn’t important to me anymore. It’s been complicated because I never imagined I’d get to this point, but I’m proud of myself for the way I’ve handled the situations – because it hasn’t been easy."
After struggling this year, Tsitsipas will certainly want to properly prepare for the 2025 season. Already at the start of the year, he will have a chance to prove his qualities again, as he's a former finalist at the Australian Open.