Dominic Thiem Retires

“I thought winning a grand slam would change my life forever. It didn’t.”

“Honestly, when I look back, I realize that I gave it too much importance, I thought it would make me happy forever, that it would change my life…but that’s not how it is. It’s an illusion. The truth is that nothing changed. And honestly, if in 20 years, I’m still here, no one will care if I was a Grand Slam champion or not. At that moment, I didn’t think that way. I thought that if I didn’t win a Grand Slam, my carrer wouldn’t be good, and I would always have doubts. It wasn’t an easy situation, it’s very nice to have that trophy at home, but in the end, it’s just a trophy; it shouldn’t make a difference in life. That’s how I see it now.”

Thiem’s story is a quite interesting one. By far the most hardworking ATP players on tour and after winning US open in 2020, his body and perhaps mentality gave up on him and had to retire at early age of 30. The promised prince on clay that never was.

But what’s interesting is the philosophy behind it. Most of the time, professional achievement does not mean fulfillment, doesn’t mean one shouldn’t strive for professional achievements, but I think it’s an illusion if one hopes to get some sort of life fulfillment from it.