Thiem will have to wear a wrist splint for at least five weeks and will hope to be okay by the time the US Open comes around in August.
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US Open champion and world number 5 Dominic Thiem has pulled out of Wimbledon, four days ahead of the tournament’s commencement. The Austrian sustained an injury to his right wrist during an ATP event in Majorca earlier in the week. The wrist was injured while he was playing against Adrian Mannarino. Scans of Thiem’s wrist later revealed that there was a detachment of the posterior sheath of the ulnar side. The Austrian had already announced his decision to not participate in the upcoming Olympic Games at Tokyo and now finds himself with a free schedule for a period of over a month. He will have to wear a wrist splint for at least five weeks, and hopes will be okay by the time the US Open comes around in August.
“I’m going to do everything the doctors say in order to recover as quickly as possible,” the 27-year-old said.
“They’ve informed me that I might be out for several weeks but I will do my best to be back on court soon. I’m really sorry for pulling out of the upcoming three tournaments I had on my calendar: Wimbledon, Hamburg, and Gstaad. They are very important tournaments for me. I appreciate all the support from the fans in these difficult moments – I’m determined to come back stronger,” he added.
The two-time French Open finalist had a Roland Garros to forget this year as he crashed out in the first round of the competition. Ahead of the competition, he had taken a break from the sport to rest his body after the physical and mental impact of winning his first-ever Grand Slam in September 2020. It was the US Open.
The injury will come as a massive disappointment to the 27-year-old, as Wimbledon was the only big competition on his calendar ahead of his US Open title defence. Thiem could have opted to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, but he decided against it. The reasons for that were the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns surrounding the safety of the staff and athletes, and he wanted to focus on the Grand Slams rather than The Games.
Losing the opportunity to participate in Wimbledon can very well be a rather disastrous situation, in terms of the US Open. Thiem might be the fifth-ranked tennis player in the world and the current US Open champion, but he will be out injured for a while, away from the major competitions tennis has to offer. It will take time for his rehabilitation, and getting into match shape. There is no hope of him successfully defending his crown if he goes into the tournament without full match fitness.
The Austrian is not the only name that will miss out on Wimbledon. Funnily enough, his is not even the biggest name that will miss out. Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal had also announced his decision to withdraw from the competition long back. The tennis legend says that he had to listen to his body in order to prolong his career. The season was getting gruelling for him and he decided to sit out the grass-court Grand Slam.
