Dominic Thiem opens up on post-retirement plans, rules out coaching

Saturday, 19 October 2024 at 07:00

Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem will be competing in his final professional tournament at next week's Vienna Open, and the 31-year old has already revealed his future plans; which do not involve tennis.

Thiem was touted as one of the few superstars set to take over from the Big Three. Reaching a career-high of World No.3, he won 17 ATP singles titles, including the 2020 US Open. However, his career was derailed in 2021, as he suffered from a lingering wrist injury and never truly recovered.

Coaching out of the question, says Thiem

Prior to his final tournament, Thiem spoke on his plans after retiring. The Austrian revealed he has been working on his next project, starting an eco-friendly energy company.

“I’m already, or we are already, working as a team," said Thiem. "Since the decision is made that I’m going to retire with the Vienna week, we already started two main projects. One is Thiem Energy, clean electricity from the sun, a project that I believe is for common good. Everybody can join it in Austria now, maybe one (day) internationally. And it’s a lot of work to do, actually.”

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Additionally, Thiem stated he had little interest in coaching full-time on tour after his retirement, although he admitted he would still like to help younger players when possible.

"There is also our tennis academy. I think I can have some weeks off to get a little bit of distance from tennis," he added. “But then I really want to help young players to develop and to make the step from a junior to a professional player. I want to give back to tennis, as tennis gave me so much.
"In the future I don’t know but right now, I don’t want to or I’m not planning to come back as a touring coach. I’m a bit tired of travelling, especially far away. And there are way better tennis coaches than me.
"But for sure, I had a lot of experiences which can be very helpful for young players. Especially, I would say in the age from 15 to 20 or 21, when there’s a lot going on and you have to make that step."

Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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