Dominic Thiem prepares to retire, and has three post-tennis wishes: “I knew that if my body lets me, I’m going to finish in Vienna”

VIENNA—At the age of 20 or so, Dominic Thiem decided there was only one place he wanted to hang up his racquet when time came calling.

Standing inside the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, the moment for Thiem to write the final chapter in a novel’s worth of remarkable stories authored on the tennis court has arrived. The 31-year-old shares an extraordinary bond with the Erste Bank Open, for it was here where Thiem took in his first tennis match as a wide-eyed preschooler and joined the event’s honor roll of champions more than two decades later.

“I knew that if my body lets me, I'm going to finish in Vienna,” the 2019 title holder tells me during a catchup a few days earlier. “That was always my dream and my goal. I didn't know which year it's going to be, but it's 2024. It’s a very nice coincidence that it's the 50th birthday of the tournament as well.”

Over the past few years, a right wrist injury denied Thiem the chance to build off his maiden major triumph at the 2020 US Open. The starts and stops brought on by that hampering issue further opened the door for Thiem to look into a future without tennis at the forefront after initially exploring outside possibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the former world No. 3 gave more of himself to new passions, it created “a distance” from his life as a world-class athlete.

“I think it helped that I took the decision already in March and that I had the time to prepare,” Thiem says. “The last two years or so, I saw that I'm not going to be able to come back to the ranking and to the playing level I once had. I knew that slowly, my tennis career is coming to an end. I needed to look for new ways because there's going to be life after tennis.”

What comes next won’t be a life slowed down. If anything, it will mimic peak tennis-playing Thiem—a guy who pushes himself to the limit, commits to getting every detail right and refuses to back down from a challenge no matter how difficult it presents. The winner of 17 tour-level titles, Thiem trusts that the heavy load he took on as a player, along with learning to navigate the tricky the ups and downs a life on tour requires, has more than prepared him to juggle every endeavor on his plate.

He’s always been like a little bit of an older brother. Really been a cool guy to be around. I think everybody hates to see him go but he seems at peace with it, he seems happy. It’s nice to see. Denis Shapovalov

Explains Thiem, “A season was from January to November without any break, traveling probably 40 weeks a year, not having a lot of time off. I think compared to this lifestyle, it's still pretty relaxed what I'm doing now. It's fine. I think those years were so intense that it's difficult to find something as intense as that.

“It's not a straight way up, not for any tennis player. There are very tough times, and there are great times as well. It's also going to be in my next chapter like that. I think I can handle it a bit better than I would without the career because I experienced pretty much everything. I don't think that there is a lot of stuff which can surprise me.”

The Thiem name can already be found on a handful of projects. The Wiener Neustadt native’s desire to help build a more environmental-friendly planet in response to the carbon footprint his tennis travels have left behind is well documented. His face lights up when he explains Thiem Energy, a company focused on developing community solar electricity solutions. The same can be said for Thiem View, which produces sunglasses made entirely from fully sustainable materials.

“The energy community is the first step of Thiem Energy. In the future, we want to go towards helping people more and more. There's a lot of work to do with that one,” he shares. “The sunglasses are amazing and have already been running (for) two years.”

Rest assured, Thiem has no designs on leaving his first love behind. The two-time Roland Garros finalist has hopes of developing 2024's debut One Shot Cup events—which is exactly as it sounds, a single winner-take-all point format—into a regular series. But more than that, Thiem wants to be the pipeline for inspiring the next great champion by growing talent within his nation’s borders.

“The tennis world gave me so much. It would be really a dream if, out of the Thiem Academy, there is a young girl or a young boy who is climbing up to the top,” he says. “It would be just amazing. I'm there to help.”

Thiem still has at least two sets of his own tennis career to savor. Over the weekend, he got the competition juices flowing at UTS Frankfurt. The vibes were all wholesome at Suwag Energie Arena, where Thiem began by reuniting with football star Mario Gotze for an unexpectedly good hit.

“I've played with him padel already a couple of times, so I didn't know how he's playing tennis. I was positively surprised,” reacts Thiem. “He has such an amazing feeling for balls. But he knows it. The technique is super clean and nice. I have to say he's a very good tennis player. It was a perfect way to get the first balls done here.”

It's not a straight way up, not for any tennis player. They're very tough times, and there are great times as well. It's also going to be in my next chapter like that. Dominic Thiem

His peers at the eight-man field all made a point to help send Thiem off to Vienna in the best way possible. There were plenty of laughs to go around, particularly during Friday’s All Star Game challenge, and warm reflections about the impression their colleague has left.

“My first time practicing with him in Acapulco, I was 17 years old. He said some really nice things to me,” recalls Thanasi Kokkinakis. “Unlucky not to win more Grand Slams, honestly. He was that good. A really nice guy and tennis will miss him.”

Echoes Denis Shapovalov, “It’s pretty sad for me. He was the top first guy that I met as a junior when I was coming up. He was so open with me and so nice. He’s always been like a little bit of an older brother. Really been a cool guy to be around. I think everybody hates to see him go but he seems at peace with it, he seems happy. It’s nice to see.”

“Even if he's younger than me, you can feel the intensity and everything he does. iI's all geared towards being professional and you can always realign yourself,” believes Jan-Lennard Struff. “I'm just delighted to be here and again in Vienna. I hope he will find a nice ending for himself. He simply deserves it.”

Once Thiem was eliminated from semifinal contention Saturday night, Gael Monfils, Ben Shelton and Ugo Humbert were among a contingent to hoist the crowd favorite in the air. The moment clearly meant a lot to Thiem.

“I am certainly very touched. It was incredible, especially the way everyone stood up and applauded. It was also special that the players were on the court,” he says.

Tennis has been the constant in Thiem’s life up until this point. Among the sport’s aspects he appreciates most is way tennis asks a player to look inward. To stare down the challenge across the net and work through resolutions for overcoming it.

“You start from a very early age to win and to lose alone. To solve solutions only by yourself,” describes Thiem. “You get just really little help by your team in the match. But mostly, you really have to solve the problems alone. The one side is the best thing ever. If you won a close match or if you won a big title, you know that the main part was you. That's just unbelievable feeling.

“There are so many ups and downs in a match, just like in life. You cannot avoid to do mistakes. You learn from those during a match and also in life.”

As he readies to step out Tuesday against Luciano Darderi for what could be his final ATP match, Thiem won’t feel any sense of solitude on this occasion. For Vienna organizers dedicated Sunday evening to celebrating their humble warrior.

Good friend Alexander Zverev, the tournament’s top seed, reunited with Thiem for a friendly set of exhibition tennis. Jack Draper won the latest iteration of Thiem's One Shot Cup over Tommy Haas. Matteo Berrettini, Boris Becker, Frances Tiafoe and former coach Nicolas Massu joined the two among others to pay tribute to the local superstar, who was presented with a commemorative trophy by tournament director Herwig Straka before being showered with confetti.

Thiem kept it together when taking the microphone to say thank you. The Austrian is unsure if tears will flow when there are no more points to be played, conceding that he’s one to generally keep his emotions contained. Closing by asking the hometown hero what he aspires to be remembered for when his name comes up in conversations down the road, Thiem’s wish is three-fold.

“I hope that I am still remembered as a tennis player (with) a nice game style people love to watch. In the future, I would really love to hear that many kids started playing tennis or that people started doing sports because of me,” he says. “Jumping really ahead in time, it would be amazing if I'm connected with doing or helping to make the planet just a better place.”

Life may not progress in a routine upward trajectory, as Thiem notes. If his outlook on life and champion’s drive are any indication, there’s every reason to be believe Thiem’s impact will be felt for generations to come.