(Watch) Dominic Thiem gets emotional as he hangs up his racquet after retirement match in ATP Vienna Open

Dominic Thiem ended his career after a recurring wrist injury.

Dominic Thiem ended his professional career in an emotional farewell during the ATP Vienna Open 2024.He hung up his racquet on the court in a specially made glass case which will be on display during the tennis experience exhibition where it will be auctioned off for charity. The crowd applauded as Thiem walked off the indoor hardcourts of Wiener Stadthalle.

Austria’s largest arena has been holding ATP Vienna Open since its inception. Over 16,000 fans gathered to watch Thiem’s opening round match as he had earlier announced that he will play his final event in front of the home crowd. After the match, the Austrian received a standing ovation from the crowd as they watched him hang his racquet.

Dominic Thiem hanging up his racquet. Pain. 💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/IbzrPrygSI

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 22, 2024

It was a special farewell for Thiem as he had secured his maiden ATP win in the same event in 2011. He had defeated fellow compatriot Thomas Muster in the opening round in straight sets. 13 years later, Thiem played his 563rd ATP match as he ended his career with 348 wins. 

A recurring wrist injury which became worse in 2021 eventually affected his career. It was a major injury as it forced him to end his professional career in the sport.

He had played his first ATP tour level match at Generali Open in Kitzbuhel, Austria in 2010. Thiem lost to Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the opening round of the ATP 250 clay court tournament. The fans will miss his powerful groundstrokes and his humble attitude off the court.

Also Read: ‘The wrist broke because…’ – Dominic Thiem talks about facing the Big 3 and his career-ending injury

Dominic Thiem brings back his class backhand winners in ATP Vienna Open 2024

Thiem made sure that he went out in style during his opening round encounter in Vienna.The 31-year-old lost to Italian Luciano Darderi, 6-7(6), 2-6 in an hour and 31 minutes. It was their first meeting on the ATP tour but Thiem displayed his vintage powerful backhand strokes during the match.

In the fourth game of the opening set, Thiem began by hitting two powerful backhand winners. While Darderi was returning his opponent’s serve comfortably, he could only witness two consecutive backhand winners down the line during the beginning of the fourth game. The fans were overjoyed to watch the classic strokes by Thiem as he rolled back the years.

SIGNATURE ™️2 consecutive backhand bullets from the one and only @domithiem 🚀#ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/EoMWyPcZCv

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 22, 2024

The 2020 US Open winner will look forward to the next part of the journey in his life. After spending more than a decade in the court, Thiem will be hoping to recover from his injuries and maybe get back to the court in a different role.

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