"It's a year to forget" - Thiem reflects on 2021 after suffering a season-ending injury

After suffering a wrist injury in June, Dominic Thiem was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the US Open before calling it quits on the 2021 season.

The Austrian claims to have heard a ‘crack’ during his match in Mallorca, with tests confirming he had suffered detachment of the posterior sheath of the ulnar side of the right wrist. Although he hoped to return in time for the US Open, the injury forced him out of competition for much longer than he had anticipated.

“For the US Open, I still had a little bit of hope," revealed Thiem. "Especially as the defending champion with a full crowd again this year I badly wanted to come back. But I simply couldn’t make it and I’m here at home watching it from far away. There is nothing I can do about it.”

The World No.6 competed in just 18 matches this year, going 9-9 with his best showing being a semifinal appearance in Madrid. Despite having a forgettable season, the 27-year old is working hard to bounce back in 2022.

“I was far away from playing my best tennis," said Thiem. "Australia was still fine playing-wise and then I had some troubles with all the tournament bubbles. Then the last season was really hard physically and mentally. I felt low energy and was not in my best shape.

“I took some time off after Australia, didn’t practice for a while and this got to me during the clay season. After that, I started to play well again and the motivation was there one hundred per cent. Then at that moment, the injury happened. It’s a year to forget and now it’s time to rest, be pumped and work hard for 2022.”