The reason why Stefanos Tsitsipas withdrew from the China Open has now been revealed

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Stefanos Tsitsipas won’t be playing at the upcoming China Open ATP 500 event.

The two-time Grand Slam finalist suffered defeat last time out, as Tsitsipas lost to Joao Fonseca at the Davis Cup.

Tsitsipas subsequently withdrew from the upcoming China Open, but was interestingly announced as a participant for an exhibition event shortly after.

Posting on social media, Tsitsipas confirmed his plans to play the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia next month.

The move didn’t seem to make much sense at the time, although it may now have been revealed why the Greek ATP star made those decisions.

Stefanos Tsitsipas reported to have undergone surgery on his back

Greek media outlet ‘Tennis 24‘ reported the following about Tsitsipas’ injury status.

“Stefanos Tsitsipas underwent lower back surgery on Thursday afternoon, in order to address the problem that has been plaguing him lately,” they 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 China Open, Shanghai Masters, and Six Kings Slam all fit within the recovery period.

Tsitsipas will hope he can recover quickly from surgery, to give himself a chance to compete at the Six Kings Slam.

With $6 million on the line, Tsitsipas will be desperate to make the trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

However, Tsitsipas won’t want to rush back too soon and risk further injury.

If he can’t recover in time, event organisers will have to look for another replacement, having already swapped out the injured Jack Draper.

The report has been disputed by some, however, with other outlets suggesting Tsitsipas hasn’t had any surgery at all.

One Instagram account, ‘Fantastic4Hands,’ instead claims that the Greek received injections to help relieve swelling and pain.

It remains to be seen if Tsitsipas himself can confirm either report, but it will certainly be something to look out for over the coming days.

Can Stefanos Tsitsipas qualify for the ATP Finals?

Tsitsipas has been a constant fixture in the top ten over recent years and qualified for the ATP Finals in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Narrowly missing out in 2024, Tsitsipas travelled to Turin as an alternate, but wasn’t required to play.

While he hasn’t been mathematically eliminated from contention, the chances are Tsitsipas won’t be heading to the year-end finals this time around.

Tsitsipas trails Lorenzo Musetti, the player occupying the final qualification spot, by over 1,500 points.

The 27-year-old would likely need to win at least one of the remaining two Masters 1000 events to give himself an outside chance of making it to Turin.

Few would have predicted Tsitsipas to fall so far out of contention when he burst onto the scene in 2019.

Winning the ATP Finals on his debut, many expected Tsitsipas to go on to achieve great things in the sport and win multiple Grand Slam titles.

It wasn’t to be, however, as despite two major final appearances, he is yet to win a Slam, and has struggled at the biggest tournaments in 2025.

Enduring arguably the toughest season of his professional career, Tsitsipas has only won two Grand Slam matches this year.

• 2025 Australian Open 1R [LOSS] vs Alex Michelsen
• 2025 French Open 1R [WIN] vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
• 2025 French Open 2R [LOSS] vs Matteo Gigante
• 2025 Wimbledon 1R [LOSS] vs Valentin Royer
• 2025 US Open 1R [WIN] vs Alexandre Muller
• 2025 US Open 2R [LOSS] vs Daniel Altmaier

He’ll be hoping for a better showing in 2026, but will need to be fully fit to do so…