Daniil Medvedev confirms the moment when ‘the fear went away’ while he was playing tennis in 2025

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Daniil Medvedev endured his worst season in years on the ATP Tour in 2025.

The former world number one fell outside the top ten for the first time since February 2023, following a number of disappointing results.

Medvedev failed to make it past the second round of a Grand Slam this season, recording first-round exits at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

After crashing out of the US Open in round one, the 29-year-old parted ways with longtime coach Gilles Cervara and appointed Thomas Johansson.

Though he has seen a return to form under the wing of Johansson, Medvedev revealed there was a moment in 2025 he thought he was done at the top level.

Daniil Medvedev discusses the ‘fear’ he had during the season

In an interview with Bolshe, the Russian said: “There was one moment this year, probably during the American swing, especially after it, where I thought: I’m 29, maybe I just can’t anymore.

“There are examples of players who that has happened to. Maybe I will never play the way I used to.

“But pretty quickly, even before Beijing and Shanghai, during practice in Monaco I was hitting so well that probably only Sinner or Alcaraz could beat me. That was before China.

“And that was when I was like, ‘okay, I can still do it’. The fear went away. There are some fears. They come, and they go.”

Daniil Medvedev’s return to form with Thomas Johansson

With a new coach in his corner, Medvedev enjoyed a much-improved Asian swing, which began with a quarterfinal finish at the Hangzhou Open.

He then defeated the likes of Cameron Norrie and Alexander Zverev en route to the semifinals at the China Open, but ultimately fell to Learner Tien.

At the Shanghai Masters, Medvedev picked up big wins over Tien and Alex de Minaur, but could not find an answer for an in-form Arthur Rinderknech in the final four.

Then, Medvedev ended his 882-day title drought by emerging victorious at the Almaty Open.

Medvedev finished the season with a record of 42 wins and 23 losses, and ended the year ranked 13th in the world.