Austrian Dominic Thiem, who won the 2020 U.S. Open and made three other Grand Slam singles finals, plans to retire from tennis after this season.
“There are some reasons behind it,” Thiem said in a video posted on his social media. “Firstly, of course, my wrist. It’s not exactly the way it should be. It’s not exactly the way how I want it. The second reason is my inner feeling. I was thinking about this decision for a very long time.”
Thiem, 30, is 1-7 in Grand Slam main-draw matches since injuring his right wrist in June 2021 and is now ranked 117th in the world.
His career highlight came at the 2020 U.S. Open. He became the first male singles player born in the 1990s to win a Slam and the second Austrian after 1995 French Open champion Thomas Muster.
Thiem rallied past German Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in a crowd-less final due to COVID-19 to become the first man other than Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to win a Slam in four years.
Federer and Nadal did not play that U.S. Open, and Djokovic was defaulted in the fourth round for hitting a ball that struck a linesperson in the throat.
“It doesn’t matter if I play one of the Big Three members or if I play somebody else,” Thiem said before the 2020 U.S. Open final. “From the moment Novak was out of the tournament, it was clear that there’s going to be a new Grand Slam champion. From that moment on, that was also out of my mind.”
At the French Open, Thiem lost to Djokovic in the semifinals in 2016, Nadal in the semifinals in 2017 and Nadal in the final in 2018 and 2019. In the 2020 Australian Open final, Thiem led Djokovic two sets to one before falling in five.
Thiem and Andy Murray are the only players to beat Djokovic, Nadal and Federer each at least five times.
Those victories included wins over Djokovic at the French Open in 2017 and 2019, Nadal at the 2020 Australian Open and Federer in the 2019 final at Indian Wells, considered tennis’ fifth major.
“I’ve won trophies I’ve really never dreamed of,” Thiem said. “So the journey was incredible.”
Source Agencies
