VIENNA—He's retiring from tennis this week, but rest assured, Dominic 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.”
