Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem, who will retire from tennis this week at the ATP 500 in Vienna, reflected on his Grand Slam title and acknowledged that he mistakenly thought it would bring him eternal happiness. The 2020 US Open winner expressed in an interview for Tennis Majors that placing too much importance on winning a Grand Slam led to disappointment, as it did not change his life as he had hoped.
Thiem admitted that after winning the title at the US Open, he experienced a period of illusion that soon faded when he returned to normalcy. Despite his achievements, like the 2020 US Open and the 2019 Indian Wells Masters 1000, Thiem faced obstacles such as injuries to his right wrist that led to a lower level of play, culminating in his premature retirement.
The now 31-year-old player revealed that after the 2020 US Open, he made the mistake of not taking the necessary break before returning to the circuit, which contributed to his physical and mental decline. Despite feeling a rebirth of motivation in the 2021 season, a wrist injury dashed his hopes of returning to his best form.
Thiem reflected on his struggle to regain past sensations in tennis and the difficulty of accepting that he would no longer be the same player. Despite his 17 titles as a professional and reaching the number 3 spot in the world ranking in 2020, Thiem concluded that his right wrist never returned to the same condition after the injury, which ultimately led him to decide to retire this week at the ATP in Vienna, a tournament that brings back memories of his victory as champion in 2019.