“Stefanos Tsitsipas Shocking Exit: The Real Reason Behind His Dramatic Withdrawal Revealed – Exclusive Inside Scoop!”
Stefanos Tsitsipas expressed his regret to fans in his press conference on Tuesday at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he was forced to retire three games into his match against Holger Rune due to a back injury. Unfortunately, Tsitsipas will not be able to continue in the season finale, and Hubert Hurkacz will take his place in the Green Group.
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“I want to apologize to all the fans and the crowd that came out to support me today and watch the match. I’m truly disappointed that I couldn’t complete the match. It’s also disheartening not to be able to give that spot to someone else to at least try and make something of it,” Tsitsipas expressed. “Despite my doctors giving me the green light to play and numerous visits in the past few days, I felt terrible on the court. I did everything I could to be ready and fit for this match, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas managed to hold his lone service game against Rune and even earned two break points against the Danish player. However, at the first changeover, he made the difficult decision to retire from the match.
“I really dislike retiring from matches. I’m not the type of person who enjoys leaving midway through a match. It’s painful not to be able to finish this tournament, one that I’ve prepared for extensively, ensuring that I’m in peak condition to showcase my abilities as a player,” Tsitsipas shared.
The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion shed light on his physical challenges, revealing that he hadn’t spent much time on the court in the past few days.
“I experienced difficulty with my movement, especially when I had to move. It’s challenging to compete in a match without being able to move. This is tennis, not darts,” Tsitsipas explained. “Being fit and feeling good with my back is crucial for me. The pain was substantial. I’ve dealt with pain during matches before and endured it, but this was clearly too much to handle.”
Tsitsipas made the tough decision to withdraw from the match after feeling discomfort during the warm-up.
“I felt it during the warm-up with my serve, experiencing irritation and a lot of pain in my back. At that moment, I had an inkling that I might not be able to go the distance,” he said.
Reflecting on his unfortunate history in Turin, where two years ago he withdrew from the Nitto ATP Finals after the first round-robin match, Tsitsipas expressed his disappointment.
“It’s very unfortunate. I’ve had two editions here in Turin where I had to withdraw from the tournament. It’s never happened to me before that I had to withdraw. There are very, very few occasions that I can recall on that matter,” Tsitsipas said. “It definitely hurts me a lot because this tournament means the most to me, including the Grand Slams. I’m not able to compete the way I want to compete.”
