Dominic Thiem pleased to have ‘clarity’ about recovery process, but concedes he may have to undergo surgery

Tennis News

Shahida Jacobs
August 23, 2021

There is a bit of weight off Dominic Thiem’s shoulders now he has a clear idea about his recovery timetable from his wrist injury, but the Austrian admits there is a chance that he could be forced to undergo surgery.

The reigning US Open champion injured his right wrist during the Mallorca Open in June and was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics.

He had high hopes of defending his US Open title in New York, but he was last week forced to give up on those dreams as he pulled out of the final Grand Slam of the year and called an end to his 2021 campaign.

‘It’s important not to take risks and rush back,’ says Dominic Thiem after injury forces him out of US Open

Although disappointed, he is relieved that he has a timetable for his recovery.

“I’m actually better than before because there is now complete clarity,” he told told Kleine Zeitung.

“I now have a precise timetable for what the next weeks and months will look like. Before that there was a lot of hope and fear. The US Open and the rest the season was in the back of my mind and I really wanted to do it.

“It just came too early, I paid a little the price for not having any experience with injuries like this. I wanted a little too early too much. The training never really worked, especially the forehand, so it was always a bad feeling and at least that’s gone now.”

Several other players, including Rafael Nadal, Kei Nishikori and Belinda Bencic, have had similar wrist injuries in the past and they have recovered.

World No 6 admits that he could be required to have surgery, but says is confident it is “not a bad thing in terms of the future”.

“Nadal had the same issue in 2016, Nishikori had the same, and so did Bencic. The doctors have said that if it heals properly, it is not a problem,” he said.

He added: “If things don’t go as planned, the chance [to have surgery] is there, but it wouldn’t be a mishap either.

“It would simply extend the time until I can be back on the court. If it really comes to the surgery, it will take a month or two longer. But it would be an operation that many players have already done and it is not a bad thing in terms of the future.”

Dominic Thiem