Thiem, after hanging up the racket: "I didn't want to leave it, but now I don't miss tennis much"

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Dominic Thiem is already enjoying a life away from the tennis courts. Despite having reached the number three spot in the world and winning the 2020 US Open, his injured wrist made his last years as a professional a true nightmare. Therefore, he no longer has to worry about the pains and lives relaxed in his beloved Vienna. Even though he is no longer on the circuit, the Austrian wanted to talk about his last tournament, the wrist pains, the situation of Alexander Zverev, and the comparison of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. All of this in an interview with Tennis Magazin.

October 22, 2024, was Dominic Thiem's last day as a professional tennis player. It took place in his home, at the ATP Vienna, and the Austrian received a huge amount of support after a career that was very promising until his wrist gave out: "I enjoyed myself a lot in Vienna. I also have to be honest: I didn't have the great level I used to have, but Vienna was simply special because many people came whom I hadn't seen in years, even many tennis legends or from other sports. In the end, however, I was also glad it was over."

No regrets about his retirement

After living through a true hell with a wrist injury that has been with him since June 2021, Thiem is enjoying his new life: "I never wanted to step away from tennis, but I am also happy to be at home, to have finally gone through a winter in the cold. I played an exhibition, but if I hit balls for several days in a row, my arm stiffens again. I never wanted to quit, but now I don't miss tennis much. In January, my brother was in Australia to follow some kids in the junior tournament, but I was happy to be at home."

The Austrian took the opportunity in the interview to open up and explain everything he went through with his dramatic injury: "There were times when things were going better, then periods where everything seemed to go wrong, and again phases where I played well and managed to defeat very strong opponents. In the final phase of my career, I had something in common: I was missing the feeling of hitting the ball in the right spot. I don't know if it was mechanical, mental, or related to a nerve in the wrist. I could have had surgery, but it would have been quite invasive, so I am convinced that I made the right decision."

Now, as he takes advantage of the benefits of a retired tennis player, he also believes that the tennis world needs a change for the sake of the players: "There is no sport with such a packed schedule as tennis. All the travel, jet lag, only sleeping in hotels, never being home, all of that creates stress. A little more free time, a slightly shorter season would make sense," argues the 31-year-old former player.

Thiem was one of the brightest talents of his generation and had confronted the Big-3 on numerous occasions. He had his moment of glory by lifting the 2020 US Open in an epic final against Alexander Zverev, in what was his first loss of the three he has in a Grand Slam final. He also shared his opinion about the German: "I hope Zverev manages to win a Slam, but today it is even more difficult to do so than five years ago. He has had too big of a career not to have achieved it. The truth is that without the big three, everyone said it would be easier to win," regrets Thiem. However, he adds: "But to do it today, you have to beat Sinner or Alcaraz, if not both. Both are as hard to beat as Djokovic and Federer were in their day," dared to compare the Viennese player, who now, after a career where he experienced both sides of the tennis coin, enjoys a well-deserved retirement.
 

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Thiem, tras colgar la raqueta: "No quería dejarlo, pero ahora no echo mucho de menos el tenis"