After a long absence since the US Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas is gearing up for a strong comeback in 2026. The Greek star has been sidelined for months with stubborn back problems that forced him to skip key events like the Shanghai Masters and the Vienna Open. It’s been a tough season overall, even with one title at the Dubai Tennis Championships. But now, Tsitsipas is ready to flip the script!

As reported by Punto de Break, Stefanos is plotting a fresh start, and it begins with something bold: A racket change! A Greek outlet revealed that the world No.34 has officially switched from Wilson to Babolat.

The move has fans buzzing, hoping to see glimpses of the brilliance that took him to world No.3 in 2021 and three Grand Slam finals. For Tsitsipas, this isn’t just a new racket. It’s a new chapter.

At 27, Tsitsipas finds himself far from his peak. His plunging ranking tells part of the story, but the reality runs deeper. His struggles have come from all angles: personal distractions, team tension, dips in motivation, technical gaps that went unpolished, and, of course, those nagging injuries. It’s been a complicated ride, one that’s tested his patience and confidence.

Throughout most of 2025, his backhand was under the microscope. The stroke lacked the speed and bite needed for today’s power game. His heavy Wilson frame didn’t help, either. It put pressure on his joints and back, making every swing harder. Eventually, Tsitsipas drew the line. As tennis24.gr reported, the Greek ace made the call to change things up. He turned to Babolat, seeking a racket that fits his feel and frees up his body.

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Interestingly, this isn’t his first brush with Babolat magic. Remember Dubai earlier this year? Tsitsipas secretly tested a blacked-out prototype, and that experiment ended with him lifting the trophy at the 2025 Dubai ATP 500. He soon switched back to Wilson, but not for long. But this time, the change is official.

His new weapon is the Babolat Pure Aero 98, a frame known for spin, power, and precision. It’s a bold choice for a player chasing a fresh start.

When asked about the change in racket, Stefanos Tsitsipas didn’t hesitate. “Comfort is one thing that it brings to my game,” he said about the new racket. “That is something that I was trying to kind of add into my game.I’ve been receiving some of that extra help. I’ve spoken about how balls and courts have changed over the last couple of years. That’s just me trying to adapt to that. That’s all.”

The decision came after weeks of testing at the Tatoi Club in Athens, where he’s been spotted grinding on court. He tried several models before finding the perfect fit.

As he added, “It’s, let’s say, foolish of me not to try and make the change because it’s too obvious that it doesn’t really benefit me or help me. These changes sometimes are necessary because you don’t want to be stuck in the same pattern over and over again.”

Now, with his new setup in hand, the 27-year-old has already landed in Dubai to gear up for the 2026 Australian Open. But will the racket switch really fuel his comeback? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, a former pro might just have the answer to what Stefanos needs to change in his game to climb back to the top.

Ex-pro imparts some honest advice to Stefanos Tsitsipas

Earlier this month, former world No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis offered a measured piece of advice, one that came straight from personal experience. Drawing on his own career highs and lows, he underlined the importance of beginning again with humility.

“Start from scratch. Start from zero again and accept where you are right now and build up on that,” he said, a line that resonates with anyone looking for a fresh start.

Baghdatis knows that path all too well. In 2006, he soared into the Australian Open final before bowing to Roger Federer, followed by a breakthrough semifinal run at Wimbledon the same year. Those performances lifted him to a career-best ranking of No. 8, marking him as one of tennis’s most exciting rising stars.

But by 2007, the steady climb turned uncertain. Injuries and what Baghdatis later described as “the wrong schedule and choices” disrupted his rhythm. By the end of 2008, his ranking had fallen from the Top 10 to outside the Top 50. It was a sharp decline that reflected just how quickly momentum can shift in the sport.

His struggles didn’t stop there. Recurring wrist, back, and knee injuries, along with other physical problems, kept him from building consistency. Some tournaments came too soon, others slipped away entirely. For all his early promise, Stefanos Tsitsipas’s season mirrored parts of Marcos’ story.

Though he lifted the trophy in Dubai in March, the rest of his year fell short of the standard of a player once contending for major titles. It is a familiar crossroads, the kind Baghdatis once stood at.

The former pro was candid about the difficulty of regaining that old feeling. “When you are top 10 and then you fall down, you always want to feel the same that you felt when you were there or when you played that match, but it’s not possible to feel the same,” he explained.

Acceptance, he says, is the foundation for rebuilding, acknowledging where you are and taking steady steps forward. Perhaps Stefanos Tsitsipas is already doing just that, starting with his racket.

As the Australian Open approaches, the big question is: Will this change help him bring the fire again when it matters most?