Dominic Thiem, the former US Open champion, announced his retirement from tennis at the age of 31, stating it “hurts” but is ultimately the “right decision.” His career concluded with a straight-set loss to Italy’s Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Vienna Open, following Thiem’s announcement last week that he would retire after this home tournament.
A Heartfelt Farewell
The former world number three, who claimed the Vienna title in 2019, lost the match 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 to the world number 42. Reflecting on his emotions during the match, Thiem remarked, “Those emotions, those feelings. Being in the flow, like I was in the first set. These are the things that will never come back. It hurts. But at the same time, I was playing some forehands, especially in the second set, and they were not even coming to the net. So it was the right decision.”
Following the defeat, the crowd honored Thiem by holding up cards featuring the Austrian flag and the message “Danke Dominic” (“Thank you Dominic”). He delivered an on-court speech before placing his racquet in a glass case to be auctioned for charity.
Celebrating an Extraordinary Journey
“I’ve had so many nice goodbyes in the last few months, but today I want to say thank you for all the sensational years,” Thiem expressed. “I am only a part of this career. The whole journey has been an absolute dream. I couldn’t have imagined it any better.”
A special ceremony took place in Vienna on Sunday, where Thiem played an exhibition set against Alexander Zverev, the player he defeated to win the 2020 US Open. Throughout his career, Thiem captured 17 titles at the ATP Tour level, reaching the French Open finals in 2018 and 2019 and finishing as the runner-up at the Australian Open in 2020. Notably, he achieved significant victories over all of the “Big Three” — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
Injury Struggles and Retirement Announcement
However, less than a year after his triumph in New York, Thiem suffered a wrist injury that sidelined him for 10 months, causing his ranking to plummet outside the top 350. Although he made a return to the top 100 last year, Thiem struggled to regain his form and confirmed in May that this season would be his last.
Tributes poured in for Thiem, including one from Federer on Instagram, who said, “An illustrious career comes to an end. Congratulations, Domi. No matter the surface, you always found a way to beat me with your thunderous backhands. But more importantly, you did it with grace and sportsmanship.”
