by After the end of his tennis career, Dominic Thiem has now joined Roger Federer in the retirement club.
The 2020 US Open winner played his last professional match on Tuesday evening at the Vienna Open, where he was beaten by the Italian Luciano Darderi.
His home fans gave him a standing ovation and Thiem thanked the audience for their support throughout his career.
The 31-year-old retired from tennis two years after Federer’s emotional farewell at the 2022 Laver Cup at London’s O2 Arena.
Rafael Nadal is expected to follow the Austrian as the 22-time Grand Slam winner is set to end his career at the Davis Cup finals in November.
Did Dominic Thiem speak to Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer before retiring?
Dominic Thiem announced in early 2024 that this would be his final season as a professional tennis player.
He has been battling injuries since 2021 and despite his best efforts, he has been unable to return to the electric form that made him one of the best players in the world. Federer and Nadal each sent Thiem video messages paying tribute to him before his retirement.
During an interview with Tennis Majors, the former world number three was asked if he had spoken to the legendary duo about quitting the sport and if he planned to do anything with his former rivals.
“I haven’t had a chance to do it yet, no,” said Thiem. “As I said, at tournaments we really don’t have enough time to really talk, especially since everyone is in competitive mode.
“It’s not necessarily the kind of thing you want to talk about during a tournament. I hope that later, maybe in a few years, we can sit down and talk about this with all the players I played against. It would be interesting.”
Dominic Thiem names a former sports star with whom he discussed retirement
Although he hasn’t spoken to Federer or Nadal about life after tennis, Thiem has had that conversation with someone else.
In fact, he is a former professional footballer who retired in July 2020 after winning the Premier League with Chelsea and the World Cup with Germany.
“The only person I’ve really talked to about it is André Schürrle, the German footballer, who is a good friend,” Thiem said. “At 29, he retired even earlier than me.
“I was interested in his experience, how the first few weeks after quitting went for him. Because in the end, no matter what sport, it’s pretty much the same for everyone.
“He was really the one I wanted to call to talk about it. We talked about it on the phone for about half an hour. And he will be there when I say goodbye in Vienna.”
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