Jacob Pletka
Dominic Thiem after winning the 2020 US Open over Alexander Zverev.
Dominic Thiem’s name first surfaced in the tennis world when he won the Boy’s French Open and the Junior Orange Bowl in the same year. He established himself as a top junior competitor in the professional circus, and in 2014, he broke into the top 100 rankings for the first time. Just 8 months later, he won his first ATP title in France. Overall, Thiem has accomplished what most would see as an outstanding career. This is, of course, without his major wrist injury in 2021, where he had to sit out for several months. This injury has now resurfaced and caused him to retire early at the age of 30. He hopes to end his career in October of 2024 in his home tournament, the ATP 500 Vienna Open.
One of Thiem’s greatest athletic feats was his fourth Grand Slam final appearance, the US Open in 2020. Thiem started down two sets against one of his good friends, Alexander Zverev. It looked like it was all over, but Thiem continued to fight through three more grueling sets to win his first-ever Grand Slam in four hours. Saving several match points along the way, Thiem’s ability to perform under pressure allowed him to become the first Austrian to win the US Open Grand Slam.
In 2021, Thiem looked to be a top competitor for future Grand Slam events. Unfortunately, he suffered a minor wrist injury which kept him off the ATP Tour for 10 months, plummeting his ranking to outside the top 350. Wrist injuries are common in the tennis community, but remain difficult to overcome. Thiem’s unorthodox style of standing far back from the baseline and hitting as hard as possible had taken a toll on his wrist. Thiem’s struggle to get back to the top has been the main factor in his decision to retire. Though he experienced some success in minor tennis tournaments from 2022 to 2024, nothing amounted to what Thiem knew he was capable of. He made his final decision to depart the tennis world at the end of the 2024 season. We will miss him.