Stefanos Tsitsipas Issues Update on Back Injury Ahead of Dubai Championships Title Defense

Stefanos Tsitsipas to open his Dubai Tennis Championships campaign against Ugo Humbert.

Stefanos Tsitsipas (Image via X/ESPN)

Stefanos Tsitsipas is back in Dubai for the Tennis Championships title defense, but he has never gotten past the quarter-finals of a tournament since May. The former World No. 3’s poor run on tour has also seen him struggle with a back problem that has forced him to retire in several matches in the past eight months.

Tsitsipas lifted the Dubai Tennis Championships twelve months ago after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. It was his only title win last year and his first ATP 500 crown on tour. He has often done remarkably well in Dubai, reaching the final in 2019 before losing to Roger Federer and in 2020, losing to Novak Djokovic.

He stands a chance of defending the Dubai tournament as none of the top 4 players are in the draw. In fact, the top seed at the tournament in Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is currently ranked World No.8 in the ATP rankings. However, for Tsitsipas to win the tournament he has do better than he has done in every tournament this season.

The Greek star reached the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open after beating Daniil Medvedev in the round of 16. He didn’t get past the quarter-finals of the Rotterdam Open and exited in the second round of the Australian Open. He’s struggling with a back issue that began in July ahead of the Wimbledon Championship.

The 27-year-old has not been 100 percent physically fit since then and has struggled with form. Nevertheless, in Dubai, Tsitsipas is focused on not making his back injury a problem when he takes on the court. During his press conference at the event, he noted that his health is currently his number one priority:

I don’t think of my back anymore, and that’s an amazing thing to see. Waking up every day and having to think of any back-related issues, it’s fantastic. I could not ask for anything better right now. My health is the number one priority. It’s the most valued thing that I have in my life. I lost the other day in Doha, and of course, I was upset, I was a bit sad, I would have wished to go a bit deeper into the tournament, played a little bit more.

Tsitsipas recently revealed that he almost retired from playing professional tennis last year due to his back injury struggles. From June until the end of the 2025 season, the Greek star never went past the second round of a tournament. At the US Open, he won his opening match but crashed out in the second round after losing to Daniel Altmaier.

Stefanos Tsitsipas admits he’s not bothered by the back issue

Stefanos Tsitsipas has been handed a relatively difficult draw at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The Greek star is an unseeded player at the event due to his ranking position and that will make him face top players early. He will open his campaign against Frenchman Ugo Humbert on Tuesday (February 24).

Should he reach the quarter-finals, he might face Qatar Open semi-finalist Jakub Mensik, while a likely clash against Alexander Bublik awaits him. During the aforementioned press conference, Tsitsipas revealed that despite the back problem, he can focus on his game and make sure it doesn’t bother him:

The thing is, I can just focus on my game right now. There are no external factors bothering me, getting into my mind. The back was a big one, and as much as I wanted to train and get out on the court, and practice and work hard, I was quite limited for a while in terms of my back. Now I feel much more free in terms of setting no boundaries and just going the whole way with it.

Tsitsipas is currently ranked World No.30 in the ATP. Before this week, he was ranked No.33. He has to make sure he climbs into the top 20 before Roland Garros, as that will prevent him from facing top-ranked players early in the tournament and allow him to get past the third round in a Grand Slam for the past year.

Tags: Stefanos Tsitsipas

#About the Author

Victor Okechukwu

(1819 Articles Published)

Victor Okechukwu is a Tennis Writer at Firstsportz. With over a year of experience, he is aiming to understand how tennis tournaments connect with fans' lives. Also, he is a short story writer, good at weaving metaphorical phrases to reveal his characters, and also has more than two dozen publications to boast for it.

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