Dominic Thiem, the 2020 men’s US Open champion, will retire at the end of the 2024 season at the age of 31 after struggling to rediscover his old form following a career-altering wrist injury.
“I have to tell you a very important, very sad but also very beautiful message,” said Thiem. “The season 2024 is gonna be my last one. I’m gonna finish my career with the end of this season. There are some reason behind it. Firstly, of course, my wrist, it’s not exactly the way it should be and it’s not exactly the way how I want it. And the second reason is my inner feeling. I was thinking about this decision for a very long time. I was thinking very carefully about it.” Thiem, who rose to a career high ranking of No 3, won his only grand slam title at the US Open in 2020, a tournament played behind closed doors due to Covid restrictions, by defeating Alexander Zverev in five sets. Thiem’s pursuit of a grand slam title had been long and hard fought, with the Austrian reaching two French Open finals, one Australian Open final and winning his only Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells in 2019 before his biggest triumph.
At the height of his powers between 2018 and 2020 Thiem also offered significant resistance to the dominance of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, registering at least four wins against each of them.
During his rise to No 3 in the world, Thiem developed his own brand of heavy, destructive ball-striking, driven by one of the best single-handed backhands of the 21st century. He was also known as an extremely hard worker who played a heavy schedule for much of his career. As he grew and matured as a player, Thiem became increasingly complete and by the end of 2020 he appeared to have put himself in a good position to compete for multiple major titles.
Instead, things fell apart. Thiem’s considerable effort to reach the top of the game began to take its toll after the US Open win as he initially struggled with burnout. Then, as he regained his motivation, he picked up a significant injury to his right wrist in June 2021.
He returned in March 2022, but his forehand has been significantly affected by the injury and he has been unable to rediscover his old form. Ranked No 103, Thiem’s highest ranking since his wrist injury was No 72 at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray has decided to bring forward his comeback from an ankle injury by a week, with the 36-year-old due to compete at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux next week.
