Former world No 3 set to retire just a few years after winning US Open

Dominic Thiem is set to bring the curtain down on his career later this year with Austrian media reporting he plans to retire on home soil barely four years after winning the US Open.

The Austrian has struggled with injury since lifting the biggest trophy of his career at Flushing Meadows in September 2020 when he defeated Alexander Zverev in five marathon sets in the final of the hard-court Grand Slam.

The 30-year-old, who also finished runner-up at the 2018 and 2019 French Open as well as the 2020 Australian Open, has won only two of the six matches he has played at ATP Tour level this year as a wrist injury has prevented him from competing regularly.

Following his 2020 US Open heroics, Thiem’s form dipped alarmingly at the beginning of the 2021 season as he revealed he lacked motivation. He ended up playing just 18 matches with a win-loss record of 9-9 as he struggled with wrist and knee injuries.

The following season didn’t go much better as he had 18–16 win-loss record and slumped out of the top 300 after the French Open before climbing back into the top 100 in October while last year wasn’t much better as he was 19–24.

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Thiem, who has won 17 ATP Tour singles titles, hinted in January this year that he was close to retirement as he revealed that he was assessing “whether the whole thing is still worth it”.

In an interview with Der Standard he said: “I see this as my last chance. If I make it, it can happen quickly. 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.”

Salzburger Nachrichten reports that Thiem will retire at the Vienna Open, which runs from October 21-27.

Thiem stated in April that he had accepted he wouldn’t regain his form of 2020 as his wrist problems continued.

“As I said in my last interview, I’m not the player of 2020 anymore,” wrote on social media. “I have to deal with the current situation, with the fact that my wrist doesn’t give me the strength it used to. I have to be honest with myself.”

His last title was at the 2020 US Open while his last final was the 2023 Austria Open where he finished runner-up to Sebastian Baez.