It's always way too early to predict how something is going to go within the first few days, or even the first few weeks of the tennis season. That said, starting off the 2026 season with three solid wins and knocking off top American Taylor Fritz is probably the perfect way for Stefanos Tsitsipas to kick things off.
The Greek tennis star fell out of the top 10 ATP rankings for the first time in years following the 2025 season after a painfully disappointing year, where he now sits at No. 34. Tsitsipas was one of a handful of stars who were predicted to rise up in men's tennis while the careers of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic began to lean more toward the setting sun.
Tsitsipas was never able to break through, especially on the Grand Slam stage, but that doesn't mean he hasn't experienced any success over time. With 2026 underway with the United Cup event, the Greek star is looking for a bounce-back year, and so far, it's started off nicely.
Stefanos Tsitsipas wins three matches, but the Greeks fall out of United Cup contention
Despite Team Greece failing to advance in Perth, their biggest star was able to capture three singles wins, going 3-0 over Shintaro Mochizuki, Billy Harris, and Taylor Fritz. Beating Fritz was the most significant win of the three, given Fritz's ATP ranking, and aside from Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the American is one of the top players on tour.
Overcoming Fritz was also Tsitispas's first top 10 victory in over a year — 18 months, to be exact. It's a celebratory feat for Tsitsipas, but he has his eyes on much more as the new tennis season progresses.
While he and countrywoman Maria Sakkari were unable to beat Americans Coco Gauff and Christian Harrison in the United Cup's mixed doubles draw, Tsitsipas is hoping that this opportunity to play with Sakkari opens the door for good things down the road.
“Obviously, it sucks losing today and not capturing that win to go to Sydney, but I see that as a greater opportunity to grow from it, use it in a positive way, and hopefully come back next year with hunger," Tsitsipas said after bowing out with Sakkari.
Tsitsipas won just one singles event last year (Dubai) and had the same number of titles the year before. In fact, he has not won three or more singles titles since 2019. The talent and skill are clearly there for Tsitsipas, but the wins and deep tournament runs have not been.
After defeating Fritz, Tsitsipas took to social media to declare that he is feeling like himself again. It's hard to dissect what "myself" really means in this context, because there is a real possibility we have never seen how good Tsitsipas truly can be.
Nevertheless, a 3-0 start to begin the year, at least in the eyes of Tsitsipas, is about as successful as he could have predicted, and playing in the Adelaide International next can help build even more confidence. The Greek will also participate in the Australian Open at the end of January, chasing that elusive major he's never been able to secure.