Thiem to miss US Open and remainder of 2021 due to wrist injury

Dominic Thiem won his first Grand Slam at the US Open last year but will not get the chance to defend his title at Flushing Meadows. Thiem’s 2021 season is over because of a wrist injury.

Austria’s Dominic Thiem

Ricky Dimon

August 18, 2021

Injuries are taking their toll on the ATP Tour in the second half of the tennis season and the latest casualty is Dominic Thiem.

Having suffered a wrist injury early in the grass-court swing, Thiem announced on Wednesday that he will be sidelined for the rest of 2021. That means the 27-year-old will be unable to defend his US Open title, which marked his first Grand Slam triumph last summer. Thiem, who also missed Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, likely would have been a Team Europe participant in the 2021 Laver Cup if healthy.

“…Unfortunately I’ve had to withdraw from the US Open and will miss the rest of the 2021 season,” the world No 6 posted on Twitter. “I’m really disappointed not to be able to defend the title in New York but I haven’t recovered from the wrist injury I suffered back in June at the Mallorca Open.

“It has been a tough decision to make but I know this is what I have to do. I have a long career ahead of me and it’s important not to take risks and rush back — which I hope you understand.”

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— Dominic Thiem (@domithiem) August 18, 2021

Thiem came back from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev in the 2020 US Open final.

This season, however, was a much different story for the Austrian. He will finish it with a 9-9 record and he had no better result than a semi-final performance at the Madrid Masters in May. Thiem’s entire clay-court swing was a huge disappointment by his lofty standards (including a first-round French Open loss to Pablo Andujar) before he sustained his wrist injury on the grass of Mallorca.

Like Roger Federer, Thiem is now out for the rest of 2021. Rafael Nadal is also in doubt for the US Open because of a foot problem.