Stefanos Tsitsipas faces six-week race against time after successful operation

Greece’s tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has undergone a procedure to end his fitness woes. The 27-year-old is going through a difficult campaign, which has been marred by poor performance as well as fitness concerns.

Earlier this year, Tsitsipas was forced to retire from the first round of Wimbledon against France’s Valentin Royer because of a back injury. The final score of the match was 6-3, 6-2. That match led Tsitsipas to face severe criticism from his former coach Goran Ivanisevic as well, who, while speaking to Serbian media, stated that he never saw a more underprepared player in his life.

“It’s a really simple situation,” said Ivanisevic back in July. “It’s simple and it’s not simple. I’ve talked to him many times. If he solves some things outside of tennis then he has a chance of being back where he belongs. He’s too good a player to be out of the Top 10. If not, then he has no chance. My duty is to fix some technical things on the court, that’s the easiest thing. This other stuff, he has to fix on his own. The desire is there, but he does nothing to improve things. It’s all ‘I want it, I want it’ but I don’t see any progress. He has to find a solution for his back issue. I was shocked. I’ve never seen such a poorly prepared player in my life. Me, at my age and with this bad knee, I’m three times in better shape than him. I'm not sure what he was doing in the previous 12 months, but his current shape is very poor.”

Now, according to Greek media outlet Tennis 24, Tsitsipas has gone through a lower back injury. The report stated that while the surgery was successful, it is not clear whether Tsitsipas will be able to recover in time for the upcoming Six Kings Slam. The report stated that Tsitsipas is expected to take between two and six weeks.

Continues fitness struggles

“Stefanos Tsitsipas underwent lower back surgery on Thursday afternoon, in order to address the problem that has been plaguing him lately,” the report said. “Specifically, the top Greek tennis player underwent a colectomy, which was causing him intense pain and difficulties in matches and training. Although the surgery is considered successful, it remains unknown when Tsitsipas will return to the courts. Depending on the healing process and his body’s response, the period of recovery could range from two to six weeks.”

The 6-million dollar competition will be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 15, 16 and 18. The other five participants will be world number one Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, defending champions and world number two Jannik Sinner, Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and America’s Taylor Fritz.

Overall, Tsitsipas has featured in 40 matches in 2025, where he managed to win just 22 and suffered 18 defeats in the process. This is the lowest win percentage Tsitsipas has managed to register ever since he turned pro in 2016 and played more than 15 matches. Tsitsipas’ best outing this year came while playing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, where he lifted the title after beating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3.

In terms of Grand Slams, Tsitsipas has had a year to forget. It is the first time since 2019 when Tsitsipas failed to cement a spot in the quarterfinal of any major event in a calendar year. His best outing in a Grand Slam this year was in the second round of two major tournaments. Recently, he was knocked out after losing in the second round to Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.