Thiem: 'Tennis is in very good hands'

Less than a year had passed since Dominic Thiem claimed his first major title at the 2020 US Open, when in June 2021 he hurt his wrist at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop and was forced to withdraw during the first set of his opening-round match against Adrian Mannarino.

Three seasons on, the Austrian is back at the venue where he picked up the injury. That moment led to a slump from which he would never return to the form that helped him reach No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Now, at 30 years of age, Thiem is enjoying the Spanish grass courts at one of the last events of his career. He has said he will retire following Vienna later this year.

“I’ve had an amazing career, I’ve always put a lot of passion into it and I’ve given my all, but now that I’ve announced my retirement, I’m very happy, because it’s relieved a lot of stress,” admitted Thiem before his opener against Gael Monfils in Mallorca.

“I can’t wait to play my last tournaments, but also to do everything that comes afterwards. I’m trying to enjoy my last months as much as possible.”

Thiem forms part of a group of accomplished players on Tour who are close to saying goodbye to professional tennis.

“It’s a very emotional year, I’d say, because Diego [Schwartzman] and I have announced our retirement, Rafa [Nadal] and Andy [Murray] are coming to the end and it’s very emotional,” said Thiem, the current No. 134 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

However, despite the ever-nearing end for those players, the Austrian also had a few words for the most nostalgic of fans. “Even so, there are some players from the old generation who are still playing incredible tennis and we have an incredible new generation.”

This new generation, of course, includes two of the youngest talents on the ATP Tour, who are no longer just promising prospects, but fighting head-to-head at the pinnacle of world tennis.

“Now there are two guys who have been No. 1, Sinner and Alcaraz, who are incredible and play great tennis,” Thiem said. “I love watching them and probably all the fans like watching them, so tennis is in very good hands.”

There is no doubt that Thiem has done everything in his power to avoid an early retirement. However, as much as he battled since his fateful injury, the results have not come. Since his return, he has suffered more defeats than victories (39-44). Regardless of the results, he always tried to take inspiration from some of his peers on Tour.

“Luckily, I had my first big injury three years ago. I’d been lucky with my body before that,” he explained. “Rafa [Nadal], Juan Martín del Potro, [they] had injuries when they were very young, so it’s very inspiring to see how they came back so many times. They’ve been a great inspiration and I’ve also tried to give everything.”

Despite his efforts, the time finally came to bring his professional career to an end, leaving a great legacy in his wake.

“I think the most important thing is that I hope a lot of children, particularly in Austria — because I’m from Austria, and that’s probably where I’m best-known, in my own country — start to play tennis because of me. That would be the most important legacy,” Thiem stated.

“I also hope that people remember me as a good person on Tour, that people have enjoyed my game, that’s also important. I hope it’s a good legacy.”

Given the number of messages he has received since announcing his retirement, Thiem can surely be happy he has fulfilled his objectives.

“I’ve had so many messages. Too many to thank each person, but I’m very, very happy about all of them,” Thiem said. “There have also been people I don’t know so well and they’ve still sent messages, they’ve even asked other players for my number to send me really amazing messages. Of course, every time I’ve received something like that from a player, it’s made me happy.”

Thiem is leaving with a smile on his face, with the peace of mind that he has always given his all on court, that he tried everything possible to be able to compete on the ATP Tour and, of course, in the knowledge that he is leaving the Tour in good hands.

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.

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