Former US Open champion drops retirement bombshell – ‘I see this as my last chance’
Just four years after achieving his biggest feat in tennis, Dominic Thiem admits he is assessing “whether the whole thing is still worth it” as he revealed that he could walk away from the sport.
After finishing runner-up in his first three major finals, Thiem finally made his Grand Slam title breakthrough at the 2020 US Open as he produced a glorious comeback to defeat Alexander Zverev 2–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6 (8–6) in the final.
He followed it up by finishing runner-up at the season-ending ATP Finals, but injuries and poor form resulted in an alarming drop in early 2021.
The Austrian opted to take a break from the game in order to recharge, but the short hiatus didn’t reverse his poor form and he ended the season with a 9-9 record.
His shocking form and injury nightmare continued in 2022 and he dropped out of the top 300 in the ATP Rankings, although he ended the year just outside the top 100. It was a similar story last year as he hovered around the 100 mark in the rankings with his best result a runners-up trophy at the Austrian Open in August.
He started his 2024 campaign with first-round defeats at the Brisbane International and Australian Open and is currently at No 90 in the world.
In an interview with Der Standard, he admitted he could throw in the towel at the end of this year.
“I see this as my last chance. If I make it, it can happen quickly,” he said. “I’ve been back for two years now since the injury, and I finished 2022 on 100 or so and last year on 98. If I finish the year on 100 again, you have to think about whether it’s still worth it.”
He added: “I’ve been in rankings for two years now that I don’t want to be in. Of course that weighs on me … I’ve been chasing the feeling of really being able to play tennis in a match again for a long time. And the way I expect myself to.”
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Still only 30, Thiem also confirmed that he has separated from his coach Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh with a replacement still to be confirmed.
The former world No 3 also dismissed suggestions that he is only playing for money with his low ranking not allowing him to earn a lot of prize money.
“I never did it for the money either. I’m not a person who values money very much,” he said. “As honest as I am, I don’t really care about the whole topic.”
