Stefanos Tsitsipas Draws Flak for Skipping Vienna Open and Playing Lucrative Six Kings Slam Despite Being Injured- “Embarrassing”

The Vienna Open is underway, and Stefanos Tsitsipas was scheduled to lock horns with Lorenzo Musetti in the first round. But Tsitsipas has decided to withdraw from the ATP 500 event hours before his match against the Italian. Lucky loser Hamad Medjedovic replaced him.

This is the third straight time the Greek ace withdrew from a tournament. Before Vienna, he skipped both the China Open and the Shanghai Masters, citing injury. He arrived in Shanghai and was scheduled to lock horns with Nuno Borges, but decided to withdraw from it hours before the match.

But despite the persistent injury problems, the two-time Grand Slam runner-up participated in the Six Kings Slam. He came as a replacement for Jack Draper, who has been nursing an arm injury since the US Open.

Tsitsipas played eventual winner Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals but failed to win a set. Despite his defeat, the 27-year-old took home $1.5 million. The lucrative Six Kings Slam offers $1.5 million to all six participants, with the winner pocketing $6 million.

Tsitsipas was last seen in action at the Davis Cup in September. In the match against Brazil, held in Athens, Tsitsipas defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild but lost a tight match against teen sensation Joao Fonseca. After the Davis Cup, Tsitsipas took to social media to address the rumors of a back surgery.

In light of recent reports, I would like to clarify that I have not undergone back surgery and I am doing well.

Tsitsipas played just the final this year and won the match. He defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Dubai Open, taking home his first title since winning the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters (also his third title in the tournament).

Fans slam Stefanos Tsitsipas for playing the Six Kings Slam and skipping the Vienna Open

Despite the physical problems, Stefanos Tsitsipas chose to come to Riyadh for the Six Kings Slam, and this did not go down well with the fans on social media. Before withdrawing, he took part in promotional events for which fans mocked him, calling it the best performance of the year.

Check out their reactions here:

Ranking points 👎
Bag 👍

— Andrew (@andym5588) October 21, 2025

found the paycheck

— Liz (@Liz41525875) October 21, 2025

Maybe $1.5 million per match might help? 🤔 we saw Holger Rune basically written off for a year with a very serious injury. Tsitsipas was pulling out of tournaments left right and centre but managed to take to the court in Saudi. Now his bad back is back. Embarrassing.

— Garry (@GarryPa31881391) October 21, 2025

He made 1.5 million for 1 hour. Payed for the rest of his year

— Grant Erbersdobler (@MrsGrantina81) October 21, 2025

Only playing Six Kings Slam and missing 3 actual tournaments during the same span just sums up Tsitsipas https://t.co/4xMYA9et4r

— dominic (@DominicPappas) October 21, 2025

But he played Saudi Arabia

— KittyKat (@Kittybox1) October 22, 2025

@Turki_alalshikh @RiyadhSeason – he was injured , why inviting @steftsitsipas to @SixKingsSlam1 ??

— Industryto (@industryto) October 22, 2025

Or he got $$$$ from the Kings… and doesn't need to play. Other players have dropped and are slowly coming back up with hard work. He seems to be less motivated, which is fine but playing hobby tennis is not great either.

— Wayne Boyd (@WB1980abc) October 22, 2025

The last time Tsitsipas won multiple titles was in 2022. He reached seven finals, including three Masters 1000s. He won two titles in 2022, at the Monte Carlo Masters by beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and the Mallorca Open by beating Roberto Bautista Agut.

Stefanos Tsitsipas on his chronic back issue

At the Shanghai Masters, Tsitsipas talked about his back problems. He said his goal at present is to play continuously without any issues.

My focus would be a combination of seeing what my back allows me to do now and reconnecting a little bit with the wins. Top of my list right now, I would definitely like to see a few matches in a row without back pain…

Stefanost Tsitsipas said at the press conference

The last time Tsitsipas played an official singles tournament was the US Open. After defeating Alexandre Muller, Tsitsipas lost a five-set second round to Daniel Altmaier.

I won’t go into details, but it’s something that did help me a lot. I readjusted and fixed my back. So I’m just waiting to see how that responds in matches and how I’m able to compete in a much more healthy state.

Stefanos Tsitsipas added

Tsitsipas will next be playing the Pais Mastres, scheduled to start on October 27. After Paris, he will be playing the first edition of the Hellenic Championship, set to start on November 2. Tsitsipas suffered a straight-set defeat to eventual champion Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters.

Also read: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Slams David Ferrer for Snubbing him after Carlos Alcaraz’s Inclusion for the Davis Cup Finals