Dominic Thiem will reportedly retire at the end of 2024
30-year-old Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem will reportedly retire at the end of the year. His last tournament is believed to be the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria from October 21st through 27th, 2024.
Thiem is the 2020 US Open Champion. He is a three-time Grand Slam finalist (2020 Australian Open, 2018 and 2019 French Open). He achieved his career-high ranking of World No. 3 on March 2, 2020 days before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world and tennis.
Injuries, loss of confidence, and form problems followed him in recent years. He has played at all levels including Challengers and qualifiers to get back to his 2020 form but has unfortunately not been successful. Thiem is a fan-favorite that fans wanted to see return to his 2020 self and win more Grand Slams.
Dominic Thiem hinted that retirement was possible
Disappointed, but not surprised, is how fans feel hearing the news. Thiem will turn 31 in September and said he had to climb the rankings in 2024, or retirement was imminent. He is currently ranked 117th. Thiem famously began his final year on the ATP Tour in a most unusual way in Australia when a poisonous snake made its way onto the court during his match.
You cannot make this up: a 50cm eastern brown snake — considered the second most venomous snake in the world — interrupted the Thiem-McCabe qualifying battle in Brisbane 😳
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) December 30, 2023
(video via Lblklk on Reddit) pic.twitter.com/QI5izBr6HN
What could have been will always be the phrase that follows Dominic Thiem. The clay is where he was most comfortable, but he could not get past Rafael Nadal in his two opportunities to win the clay-court Grand Slam.
The #Thiem story:
— Pietro Marazzato (@PietroMarazzato) May 7, 2024
• May '15: clinches his 1st ATP title in Nizze vs Mayer;
• June '18: reaches his 1st Major F at the French;
• March '19: defeats Federer and wins Indian Wells;
• September '20: becomes a GS champions with a 0-2 comeback over Zverev;
• June '21: wrist... pic.twitter.com/1oqL6yOat7
He has 17 career titles and 348 career wins on the ATP Tour. His legacy will be as a Grand Slam champion which thus far puts him ahead of some of his peers that have not been able to accomplish it including Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev.
Thiem joins a growing list of players who are saying farewell to the game in the coming months. On the ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal and Diego Schwartzman are expected to conclude in their careers within the year. For the WTA, Alize Cornet and Danielle Collins will be leaving the game behind.
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