FALLEN STAR HINTS EARLY RETIREMENT AMID WIMBLEDON UPSET: 'IF I'M NOT HEALTHY...'

Stefanos Tsitsipas is consoled by his opponent following a mid-match retirement. (Getty/Dan Istitene)

Once tipped as a future world No.1 and Grand Slam champion, Stefanos Tsitsipas’ career is at a crossroads following his latest setback.

For the first time, the 26-year-old retired during a Grand Slam match after trailing 3-6, 2-6 to Valentin Royer at the All England Club.

A lower back issue caused the Greek star to pull the pin. It comes as little surprise given Tsitsipas has been dealing with chronic lower back pain since 2023.

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The former world No.3 and two-time major finalist has recently dropped outside the world’s top-20, and now, he seems void of direction.

"It's really painful to see myself in a situation like this," he told the media post-match. "The thing that I absolutely hate doing is retiring or stopping a match, but I've never pictured myself being in a situation like this multiple times since the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin a couple of years back.

"Since that time, I've been very fragile with my body, and I've been battling a war of feeling healthy and feeling comfortable going to extremes, which has been a difficult battle.

"I really don't know. I feel like I'm left without answers. I don't know. I've tried everything. I've done an incredible job with my fitness. I've done an incredible job with my physiotherapy, so I've maximised everything that I possibly can do. Right now, I'm just absolutely left with no answers. I don't know what to do."

After faltering in the first-round at Melbourne Park to Alex Michelsen six months ago, Tsitsipas offered a blunt and honest assessment concerning his mental state.

"I had a fresher mind back then. It seemed like I was hungrier in a completely different way than I am now," he said.

Despite hiring 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanišević as his new coach for the grass season, an early retirement from the sport may well and truly be an unthinkable possibility.

"It's probably the most difficult situation that I've ever been faced with, because it's an ongoing issue that doesn't seem to be disappearing or fading off as much," Tsitsipas openly shared.

"I have a limit at some point, so I'll definitely have to have my final answer on whether I want to do stuff or not in the next couple of months.

"This is going to be hard, but if I see it going in that trajectory, there is no point [in] competing. If I'm not healthy, and I've talked about health so many times, if health is not there, then your whole tennis life becomes miserable."

Tsitsipas hasn’t surpassed the second-round of a Slam since last year’s Roland-Garros.

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