Stefanos Tsitsipas Believes He has Overcome Injury Struggles as Hunt for Form Continues in Madrid

Stefanos Tsitsipas to play against Alexander Bublik in the second round of the Madrid Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas Believes He has Overcome Injury Struggles as Hunt for Form Continues in Madrid

Stefanos Tsitsipas

In Short
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas is focused on regaining confidence after overcoming a back injury that affected his performance.
  • He achieved his first clay-court win of the season at the Madrid Open, defeating Patrick Kypson in the opening round.
  • Tsitsipas aims to recreate past success on clay as he prepares to face Alexander Bublik in the second round of the Madrid Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas believes his current biggest problem is regaining his full confidence after overcoming injury struggles. The Greek star struggled with a back injury for more than half of last season, which affected his results on the court, but at the Madrid Open, he’s counting on a breakthrough.

The former World No. 3 is currently ranked No. 80 in the ATP rankings, marking an unexpected slump this season. For the past few months, he has not won more than three consecutive matches on tour. Before arriving in Madrid, he had lost back-to-back matches on clay.

At the Monte Carlo Masters, where he was counting on returning to form, having won the title three times in his career, he crashed out in the first round for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old then suffered another humbling defeat in the opening round of the Barcelona Open last week in Spain.

Nonetheless, Tsitsipas’ mixed results on tour are due to a lengthy battle with a back injury, which hindered him for months. The issue was so problematic that at one stage, he contemplated retiring from professional tennis. Fortunately, this season, the back problem appears to have been finally resolved.

His main focus now turns to his results on the court. Following three consecutive losses, he picked up his first clay-court win of the season at the Madrid Open after beating American star Patrick Kypson 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in the opening round. During his post-match press conference, Tsitsipas admitted that he needs to regain his confidence by winning on the court:

I’m at a good place with my body because last year I felt like I was heading nowhere. I kept playing here and there, not very consistently. My confidence plummeted. This year I’m healthy. I started the Australian Open until now, and haven’t had any issues with my body. The only thing that I’m missing is a few wins that I’m hoping to clinch over the next couple of weeks. I need wins, I need to start feeling my game again.

Tsitsipas has a solid record on clay. Five of his 12 ATP titles have come from the surface, including three from the Monte Carlo Masters. He has also reached the final of the Madrid Open and the Rome Masters. However, he has struggled in those tournaments since last season and has not reached a semi-final on clay since 2024.

Stefanos Tsitsipas hopes to recreate a special run at the Madrid Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas has lacked consistency on the court so far this season. Despite that, he has managed to beat top 10 players at the Miami Open (Alex de Minaur) and at the United Cup (Taylor Fritz). He also defeated Daniil Medvedev in the Qatar Open, who was ranked at the time as World No. 11 in the ATP rankings.

Stefanos Tsitsipas 1
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Image via X/ESPN)

In Madrid, he’s seeking to get back to form and enjoy a consistent level of performance, having fully recovered from his back injury. Tsitsipas revealed during the aforementioned press conference that he hopes to recreate the success he once had at the surface but aims to take it one match at a time:

Back to where it was, especially during the clay court season. In the past, I’ve had some really good tournaments playing on clay, I’ve had success playing on the surface and I want to try and recreate that, see the things that actually work for me and try to replicate them. I just take it one match at a time. Each match has a different variation. Each player has a slightly different style.

The World No.80 will face Alexander Bublik in the second round of the Madrid Open. Bublik enters the match after a good quarter-finals finish at the Monte Carlo Masters. But Tsitsipas leads their head-to-head record 2-0 on tour, with both meetings in Marseille and Dubai in 2020.

Also Read: Serena Williams’ Former Coach Pinpoints Major Problem in Iga Swiatek’s Game That’s “Too Predictable”