Former Grand Slam finalist withdraws from Paris Masters as injury concerns worsen

Follow us on Google Discover

As the 2025 season draws to a close, injuries are piling up on the ATP Tour.

Several big names have already shut down their seasons due to injury, including Jack Draper and Holger Rune.

The pair were both in contention to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin, but have now been sidelined with physical problems.

Several other players are trying to fight through injury to complete the season, with just a few tournaments left before the end of the year.

One of those players has just withdrawn from his third consecutive ATP tournament, as concerns over his future grow.

Stefanos Tsitsipas withdraws from Paris Masters due to injury

The Greek number one hasn’t played a competitive match since the US Open, where Tsitsipas lost to Daniel Altmaier in round two.

He subsequently withdrew from the Shanghai Masters before playing the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia.

Then, hours before his first-round match in Austria, Tsitsipas withdrew from the Vienna Open, as he continues to struggle with an ongoing back injury.

He had hoped to be fit for the final Masters 1000 event of the year, but unfortunately, Tsitsipas will miss the Paris Masters as well.

The two-time Grand Slam finalist now has just one event left on his calendar, the Hellenic Championship.

In any other case, you’d expect a player struggling with an injury to skip an ATP 250 event, but Tsitsipas will be hesitant to do so.

The 2025 Hellenic Championship is set to be the first ATP event held in Greece, Tsitsipas’ home country, since 1994.

With the future of the tournament uncertain, Tsitsipas won’t want to miss the chance to play in front of his home crowd.

Should he be fit to participate, he’d compete as the number-five seed in a field that includes 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

The 26-year-old would love nothing more than to pick up his second ATP title of the year in Athens, although the smarter decision may be to withdraw.

Having struggled with his back injury for several months, aggravating it in a bid to win an ATP 250 would be unwise, especially with the off-season right around the corner…

What should Stefanos Tsitsipas do before the 2026 season starts?

Earlier this year, Tsitsipas hired Goran Ivanisevic as his new coach, in a bid to bring fresh blood into his team.

Their relationship was short-lived, however, as Ivanisevic and Tsitsipas split after the grass-court season, with the Croat describing him as the most ‘underprepared player’ he’d ever seen.

Shortly after, Apostolos Tsitsipas returned as Tsitsipas’ coach, having previously been dismissed the year prior.

Tsitsipas should have some continuity over the winter break, which may help him return to his old self.

After all, it was under his father’s guidance that he won the ATP Finals and reached two Grand Slam finals (French Open 2021, Australian Open 2023).

What’s important is that he and his father retain a positive relationship during the off-season, working towards a common goal of seeing Tsitsipas return to the top 10.

With Tsitsipas skipping the Paris Masters with an injury, he is likely to fall outside the world’s top 30.

Therefore, the Greek will have a lot of work to do in the new year if he wants to climb back up the rankings.

Only time will tell if Tsitsipas can return to the top of men’s tennis in the future, but it will certainly be something to keep an eye on in 2026.

He won’t want to think about 2026, just yet, however, as he targets a return to the court at the 2025 Hellenic Championship, which begins on Monday, November 3.