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Dominic Thiem is preparing to end his career at the end of the year.Fans are dismayed, Novak Djokovic is also suffering.Is the Lower Austrian saying goodbye for good in Vienna?
Thoughts of ending his career have been buzzing around in Dominic Thiem's head since the beginning of the year, and now the decision has been made: The 30-year-old will hang up his tennis racket in October. His sponsors have been informed, the public should find out officially tomorrow - brother and manager Moritz has announced a statement.
The farewell tour is to start at the French Open in Paris. Followed by the highlights in Kitzbühel, the Olympic Games (if he qualifies) and the US Open. With the big farewell performance in front of his home fans at the end of October in the Wiener Stadthalle.
Fall to 128th place
It is not surprising, but ultimately an abrupt end to a long battle. The 2020 US Open title was Thiem's biggest of his 17 - but also his last. In June 2021, he suffered a serious wrist injury in Mallorca and subsequently never made it back to the top of the world rankings.
This year, he wanted to give it another go and parted ways with coach Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh - but the results are sobering: just one tour win, a back-and-forth between qualifying and Challenger events. Thiem is now only 128th in the live rankings, which has prompted him to let it go ...
"Will miss you"
A decision that Austria's tennis fans received with dismay. In the online forums, where Thiem has been subjected to almost exclusively negative comments in recent months, the reactions were supportive - from "it's a shame it's coming to an end like this" to "he deserves more respect" and "we'll miss you".
Superstar Novak Djokovic was also affected by the news, saying in Rome: "I like Dominic, he is a great person who has always shown respect on and off the court." He hopes Thiem will change his mind after all: "Hopefully he can stay - because he's an important player for our sport."
Yes, Thiem is someone who still moves people despite his sporting misery. Last year, he was the most googled Austrian of the year, and he's a crowd puller for the Austrian media. Unfortunately, those days are over on the court, and in October they will probably be over for good ...
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