Dominic Thiem, 29, admits he is thinking about life beyond tennis as he is well aware that he is slowly entering the final stage of his career. Thiem, who turned pro in 2011, is one of the most accomplished players of his generation but the last few years haven’t been easy for the Austrian.
“I’m constantly thinking of a life beyond tennis. I think that tennis was, for a long time, the only part of my life, which is good in one way but if you’re getting older it’s not good anymore, you need a life beyond tennis, you need other thoughts in your head, other things to do and the injury time out and tough time to come back helped me in those terms and I’m very happy about it,” Thiem said on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.
Thiem hasn’t had it easy since winning his first Grand Slam
At the 2020 US Open, Thiem finally made his big Grand Slam breakthrough and became a Major champion. Two and a half years have passed since Thiem’s US Open victory and he hasn’t won any titles since.
In 2021 June, Thiem suffered a wrist injury that sidelined him for the next 10 months. Thiem, who returned to tennis in 2022 March, is now ranked at No 97 in the world and he is not anymore one of the best players in the game.
Last week, Thiem suffered another low after losing to Thiago Monteiro in the Rio de Janeiro first round. With that loss, Thiem’s record in 2023 fell to 1-5. After the loss against Monteiro, Thiem made an interesting comment.
“I was defining myself only by results for a long time, which is not mentally healthy. I’m going to do my best in every match, what will happen I can’t predict,” Thiem said after his Rio de Janeiro exit. This week, Thiem is competing on the clay courts of Santiago.
