In 2024, Dominic Thiem announced a sudden and heartbreaking retirement from tennis. The Austrian had to walk away from the sport due to recurring injury problems at just 31, unable to fulfill his dreams. After almost two years, Thiem has finally opened up on the exact reason he was forced to take such a tough decision at an early age.

“The main reason was definitely physical,” he said in an interview with Talking Tennis. “The main reason was the wrist, but of course as a following result of the wrist my game was not where it should have been or where I was used to, so of course some mental parts came to it as I was not satisfied with my game.”

The injury problems especially affected Thiem’s powerful forehands and his strong serve. With him not being able to use his biggest weapons, his form deteriorated and he wasn’t the same player as before.

“My forehand and also my kick serve, which was definitely important for my game, there was some pace and acceleration missing. That was just before when I was at the peak of my game the biggest weapon I had and those weapons lost, because of that I was not the same player anymore, I was not as dangerous to my opponents as before,” he added.

At his very best, Thiem was regarded as one of the biggest threats to the “Big 3’s” dominance. The Austrian managed to rack up five wins against Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer each while winning six matches against Rafael Nadal. It won’t be wrong to say that he would have multiple Grand Slam triumphs if he didn’t play in the era of the Big 3.

2020 was one of his most successful years on the tour as he went on to capture the US Open crown and reached the final of the Australian Open, where Novak Djokovic got the better of him in five sets. But just a year later would mark the beginning of the end for Thiem as he sustained a career-threatening wrist injury.

He would return to the Tour in 2022 but wasn’t able to regain his level. Both his game and ranking kept on dropping as time went by, and thus he decided to call it quits two years later after participating in his home event at the Vienna Open in October.

But being the sports lover that he is, Thiem couldn’t stay away from it for long. He recently made the shift to another sport and will soon begin a different chapter of his life in Austria itself.

Dominic Thiem has officially registered as a soccer player

The 32-year-old has registered as a soccer player with Austrian club Badener AC, which currently plays in the eighth division. While the team’s manager, Sergej Petrovic, welcomed Thiem’s arrival, he also remarked that the competition for a place in the team will remain the same for everyone.

“We’ve heard that he’s a good player,” he said in a statement. “He has a friend at the club, and I hope he’ll play very well here. Everyone has to fight for a spot in the starting eleven.”

According to player registration details confirmed by the Austrian Football Association (OFB), Thiem’s transfer was officially completed on July 15. His move to the club was made possible through a friend who already plays for the club.

Soccer has always had a special place in Thiem’s heart, so it’s not a huge surprise that he has made the switch after he wasn’t able to discover his full potential in tennis.

This isn’t even his first experience as a soccer player. He had previously made 10 appearances and scored one goal for his hometown amateur club, SC Lichtenwörth. It remains to be seen if Thiem will be able to make substantial appearances in the upcoming season for Badener AC.