Dominic Thiem Pessimistic About Tennis Tour Resuming in 2020

World Number three Dominic Thiem kick-started the year in the best possible way by reaching the final of the Australian Open. He was just a few games away from making his Grand Slam breakthrough, but eventually, it was the ‘Melbourne King’ Novak Djokovic who pulled off his eighth Aussie Major.

Right now, the global health crisis has forced the tennis season to be suspended for an indefinite period of time. Austrian ace Thiem believes that the tennis tour will commence only at the Australian Summer in 2021.

“To bring all the guys together in one place is very difficult. In my eyes, the most realistic scenario is, that we start again in Australia. Or with the events at the beginning of 2021,” Dominic Thiem said.

Tennis is a global sport with events all across the globe. For professionals, traveling is an unavoidable part of the job. At the moment, players cannot travel between countries since international travel is suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it is unlikely that the boarding gates will open up anytime soon.

Judging from the current situation, it might take the rest of the year or more for the virus to dissipate and for everything to return to normal. Hence, there’s no reason Thiem’s school of thought could be too off the mark.

Dominic Thiem against Player Relief Fund

Recently, the three-time Grand Slam finalist voiced his opposition to Novak Djokovic’s donation plan to support the lower-ranked players during the suspension of the tour.

Thiem shared his opinion about not supporting some players on the tour. Also, there are several reasons why he doesn’t want to contribute. In a nutshell, the Austrian doesn’t find a valid reason to support all of those players. Indeed, he raised a point about donating the money to the healthcare services and other people, outside of tennis, in need.

During the break, Thiem has been working out to keep himself in the shape. He has also been playing FIFA with his fellow professionals from the ATP Tour. 

Read More – Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev Bond Over FIFA During Coronavirus Pandemic