Tennis star very open

“That was unnecessary!” Thiem talks about retirement

Dominic Thiem

(Bild: APA/FLORIAN WIESER)

In his first TV interview since announcing his retirement at the end of this season, Dominic Thiem ruled out a Marcel Hirscher-style comeback to skiing on Sunday. Yes, he even speaks of a relief - and says quite openly what was unnecessary.

"For me, the decision feels very, very final. I can't imagine it," said Austria's tennis star and US Open winner in an ORF TV interview with "Sport am Sonntag".

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The decision made three weeks ago was a relief. "The weeks and months leading up to it were very difficult. I didn't make the decision from one day to the next," explained the 17-time ATP tournament winner.

After the wrist injury on Mallorca in 2021, he "never got the feeling back in my wrist that I had before the injury. I had the feeling that I was delicate in terms of technique." Last year's Kitzbühel final didn't change that, he said, as he achieved this success more with fighting spirit and routine. "I felt anything but convincing on the inside in terms of my game and was practically mourning the old wrist."

(Bild: AFP/APA/Pau Barrena)

"An incredible time"
He can't see that more would have been possible in his career with a total of four major finals and two finals at the ATP Finals. "I've had an incredible time and have really lived out my dream and my whole tennis life to the full." Even though he will be 31 in October, when he plays his last tournament in the Stadthalle in Vienna, this is not a high tennis age. "Personally, I feel older and mature enough to close the chapter. I really don't think it's too early or that anything else could have come."

Looking back, he regrets a little that he made so many stops with his coaching right after his time with coach Günter Bresnik (until 2019). "In hindsight, I would switch to the family right now, all the time in between, all the separations were unnecessary."

Günter Bresnik (left) once discovered Austria's tennis star Dominic Thiem and guided the Lower Austrian to the top of the world rankings.

(Bild: GEPA)

"It's up to me"
Thiem shook off repeated criticism that he should have separated sport and family more. "It has worked well and is only criticized because I don't play well enough or don't have enough sporting success. The one has nothing to do with the other. The only reason why my sporting achievements don't match up is because of me."

After his career, Thiem wants to devote more time to his concerns for the environment and sustainability, including with an energy community in collaboration with a solar energy provider (Thiem Energy). "Football is also a matter close to my heart. My dream is to one day found a club that is sustainable and combines all these issues. And so that children and young people play a lot of sport."

What happens next
Thiem's tournament schedule for the end of his career has not yet been confirmed. In addition to the already confirmed wildcard in Mallorca (grass) as well as the appearance in Kitzbühel and Vienna at the end, he apparently also has his sights set on the grass tournaments in Halle and Wimbledon. Manager Moritz Thiem has not yet answered the question of whether Thiem will also say goodbye to his fans at the US Open during the qualifiers when asked by APA.