Stefanos Tsitsipas says he is free of the physical problems that dragged down his ranking last year. He is now loading up his end of season to be seeded at the Grand Slams in 2027.

The Greek is ranked No. 43 and seeded No. 7 at the Almaty ATP 250. Speaking on Sunday after signing autographs for fans, he said his body no longer limits how much he can play.

“Last year, I didn’t have a healthy body, and it affected my ranking and my confidence,” Tsitsipas said. “But now suddenly I can have long runs without being affected by it, so that is a big relief for me. I know I can get back to the top. I genuinely believe that. If I want to play every single week, now I know I can without any concerns.”

That is why he is playing more than usual this autumn.

Normally, I wouldn’t be playing that many tournaments

“Normally, I wouldn’t be playing that many tournaments, but I’m trying to accumulate as many points as possible at the end of the season,” he said. “I want to close the season strongly in order to be seeded at the Grand Slams and avoid big names in the early rounds of the big tournaments. I feel next season will be more about me being hunted than hunting, like this year when I was genuinely hunting to get back to where I belong.”

Tsitsipas, who won the Gstaad title this season, has been getting back on track since the second half of the year. He credited Thomas Perrin, who joined his team from the Mouratoglou Academy.

“Thomas brings calmness to the team, and that’s what I need,” he said. “I need someone who understands me and my decision-making process. He’s a very collaborative person, and he’s open-minded and sees things exactly how I see them.”

1st round : Kovacevic

He said keeping his father out of the coaching role had been the right call: “I love my father as a father, and I want to keep the coaching part out of my relationship with him because now it has never been better.” He added that Patrick Mouratoglou “is a big asset that is also part of the whole Tsitsipas team.”

Tsitsipas reached the final of this event in 2022, when it was held in Astana, losing to Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4. He opens against Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States, and the winner will face Kazakh wildcard Mikhail Kukushkin in the second round.