Dominic Thiem, the former US Open champion, believes that it is the right decision to retire from tennis at the age of 31.
The athlete’s tennis career ended with his straight defeat against Luciano Darderi from Italy in the first round of the Vienna Open with a performance record of 7-6 (8-6) 6-2. Thiem then announced that he would retire after his home tournament.
Announcing his decision, Thiem said: “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.”
The athlete also gave an on-court speech before he placed his tennis racquet in a glass case. His racquet is to be auctioned to raise funds for charity.
He said: “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… I am only a part of this career. The whole journey has been an absolute dream. I couldn’t have imagined it any better.”
Thiem has won 17 titles at the ATP Tour level in his career. He was a French Open finalist in 2018 and 2019 and a runner-up at the Australian Open in 2020.
However, he sustained a wrist injury that hindered him for 10 months and resulted in his ranking going down, outside the top 350. Thiem reclaimed his spot in the top 100 last year but confirmed last May that this season would be his last.
Source: BBC