(Video) “This hurts so much”- Fans get emotional as Dominic Thiem ‘hangs up’ his racket after Vienna Open defeat

After his continuous struggle with a wrist injury, Dominic Thiem finally bade his farewell to tennis after the Vienna Open.

(Video) “This hurts so much”- Fans get emotional as Dominic Thiem ‘hangs up’ his racket after Vienna Open defeat

Dominic Thiem hung up his racket after first-round defeat at the Vienna Open (Images via X)

Prior to his first-round match at the Vienna Open on Tuesday (October 22), Dominic Thiem received a farewell inside a packed Center Court, after which he locked horns with Luciano Darderi in the first round and was defeated in straight sets. The match was their first on the ATP Tour. 

The 17-time tour-level champion showed a glimpse of his prime self during the first set against the Italian who arrived in Vienna on a seven-match losing streak. Following the match, Thiem was allowed to ‘hang up the racket’.

YouTube video

I’ve had so many nice goodbyes in the last few months, but today I want to say thank you for all the sensational years. I am only a part of this career. The whole journey has been an absolute dream and I want this afternoon, this evening, to be yours. I couldn’t have imagined it any better. Thank you!

Dominic Thiem said after the match 

Here’s the video:

Darderi will be locking horns with seventh seed Jack Draper in the next round. The Brit, in his opening match, knocked out Kei Nishikori in straight sets. 

Fans pay tribute to Dominic Thiem as he retires from tennis after Vienna Open

Upon watching the video of Thiem hanging up his racket, fans on social media got emotional as they too felt that anything could happen to a talented player with a lot of potential.

Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem (Image via X)

Fans felt a player like Thiem would have won multiple Grand Slam titles had his career not been marred by the wrist injury he suffered following the 2020 US Open. A fan, however, is confident of seeing Thiem back on court in 2–3 years. 

Check out their reactions here:

The former World No.3 won the 2020 US Open and lost three Grand Slam finals to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Nadal is another big name to retire from tennis this year. He announced on October 10 that next month’s Davis Cup will be the final tournament of his career.

Thiem’s last appearance in a Grand Slam event was at the 2024 US Open, where 13th seed Ben Shelton defeated him in straight sets in the first round. He played as a qualifier in this year’s French Open and failed to make it to the main draw. Thiem was also defeated in the first round of the Australian Open by Felix Auger-Aliassime. He did not play Wimbledon.