Stefanos Tsitsipas upbeat about 2026 season despite Adelaide International exit

A former world No. 3 and a two-time Grand Slam finalist at the peak of his powers, Tsitsipas enters 2026 looking to rediscover his best form after a disappointing 2025 campaign.

Having initially fallen out of the top 10 in 2024, the Greek initially returned to the top 10 after his victory at the Dubai Tennis Championships in March 2025, though he then struggled across the rest of the season.

Tsitsipas fell back out of the top 10 after a quarter-final defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters - where he was the defending champion - and then fell in round two of the French Open, and round one of both Wimbledon and the US Open.

Struggling with a back injury, the 27-year-old called time on his season after a Davis Cup tie in September, and finished 2025 down at 36th in the ATP Rankings.

Tsitsipas revealed ahead of the start of 2026 that he had contemplated retirement due to his injury struggles, though he picked up three wins from three representing Greece at the United Cup last week.

The Greek defeated Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan and Billy Harris of Great Britain before an impressive top-10 win over Taylor Fritz of the United States.

However, the 27-year-old was unable to back those wins up at the ATP event in Adelaide, with seventh-seeded Tsitsipas shocked 7-6(3), 7-5(5) by world No 87 Aleksandar Vukic on Tuesday.

Despite the disappointing defeat, Tsitsipas revealed he was still incredibly optimistic about the rest of the 2026 season.

"I am playing good tennis," said the Greek.

"I won't let a result like this define the beginning of my year. I'm just focused on big goals, and I want to accomplish great things this year.

"It all depends on me, how much I'm going to work on the court and the consistency that I'm going to show every single day.

"I have a long year, and I'm looking forward on getting it started in the best possible way."

Asked further about whether his targets for the season were largely based on getting back into Grand Slam contention, the Greek confirmed this was the case.

He responded: "That's right. That's my goal. Playing good on slams, having deep runs, feeling my game, and showing that I still got it. This is exactly it."

Tsitsipas does not have to wait too long until he gets the chance to test himself on the Grand Slam stage, with the Australian Open underway in less than one week.

The Greek rose three places up to world No. 33 in the ATP Rankings this week thanks to his United Cup efforts, and with Jack Draper and Holger Rune both out of the event, he is set to be seeded in Melbourne.

He was beaten by Alex Michelsen in the opening round of the event back in 2025, meaning he has just 10 ranking points to defend at the tournament this year.

Tsitsipas reached the Australian Open final back in 2023, falling to Novak Djokovic, and was also a semi-finalist at the tournament in 2019, 2021, and 2022.

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