"I see this as my last chance" - Dominic Thiem lays bare his on-court struggles and tennis future, confirms split with coach

Dominic Thiem recently made an honest admission about his tennis future while outlining his plan for the 2024 season.

Thiem hasn’t had the best start to his 2024 campaign. The former World No. 3 is yet to register a tour-level win this season. His only two wins so far have come in the qualifiers of the Brisbane International.

The Austrian has registered two main draw defeats; to Rafael Nadal in the opening round in Brisbane, and to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Australian Open first round.

Dominic Thiem, who hired Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh as his coach after splitting with long-time coach Nicolas Massu in April 2023, has now ended his partnership with Ebrahimzadeh as well. He is said to be in talks with a non-Austrian coach.

“Yes, I separated from Benny after Australia,” Thiem said in a recent press conference in Austria, as per Der Standard. “[The new coach] will be someone who knows me as a player - since I was young, so to speak. I see that as the only chance to get the finishing touches."

Speaking about his 2024 season, Dominic Thiem, currently ranked World No. 90, said that he would be skipping the Sunshine Double [the Indian Wells and the Miami Open]. He would instead participate in the claycourt Challengers in Szekesfehervar, Zadar and Napoli, in hopes of collecting decent ranking points before competing in the Monte-Carlo Masters.

The Austrian, who hopes to re-enter the world’s top 50 by the end of the year, hinted that the 2024 season would be his last chance of doing so.

"I see this as my last chance. If I can do it, it can happen quickly," he said. "I've been back for two years since the injury, and I finished 2022 at 100 or so and last year at 98. Should I end the year at 100 again, you have to think about whether the whole thing is still worth it."

Thiem added that it isn’t the prize money that drives him, but the competitive feeling.

"I never did it for the money either. I'm not a person who values money very much. As honest as I am, I don't really care about the whole topic. I've been chasing the feeling for a long time, really like that again in a match. To play tennis the way I can. And the way I demand of myself."

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Dominic Thiem on his discouraging results and dip in ranking - "That puts a strain on me"

Dominic Thiem pictured at the 2024 Australian Open

Dominic Thiem became a trailblazer for the ‘90s born generation of tennis players when he started scoring significant victories against the Big-3 - Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The Austrian has defeated each of the three at least five times.

Thiem also exceled at Grand Slams, featuring in four finals, including the 2018 and 2019 French Open, as well as the 2020 Australian Open. He won his solitary Grand Slam at the 2020 US Open.

Thiem has, however, not enjoyed the same success after winning the Major. In 2021, he injured his wrist during a tournament in Mallorca, which forced him out of action for almost a year. The 30-year-old’s ranking hasn’t recovered since.

"For two years now I've been in ranking spheres that I don't want to be in. Of course that puts a strain on me," Dominic Thiem said in the aforementioned press conference.

The former US Open champion also noted that his low ranking has had an impact on his tournament participation.

"There are a lot of things that come along that I haven't known for years, such as being worried for ages about getting into the main competitions of tournaments," the former World No. 3 said.

Dominic Thiem’s previous best result came at the ATP 250 in Kitzbuhel in 2023, where he reached his first title clash since his runner-up finish at the 2020 ATP Finals. The Austrian, however, fell short of winning his 18th career title at the tournament.