This year has been full of losses for Dominic Thiem. He has been absent from most of the tournaments on the ATP Tour Masters 1000: Indian Wells, Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters, Canadian Open, Cincinnati Masters and Paris Masters. The only good results for him this year were the semifinals at the Madrid Open and reaching the 4th round of the Australia Open.

The last game of 2021 for Dominic Thiem was against Adrian Mannarino, but Thiem had to withdraw due to problems stemming from an injury. That game was part of the Mallorca Open. Earlier in the year, at the French Open, he was eliminated in the first round.

Why won’t Dominic Thiem compete in the US Open 2021?

The reason for Dominic Thiem’s absence from the 2021 US Open is directly linked to a wrist injury. The injury appeared during the Mallorca Open. Wrist injuries take time to heal, so Dominic Thiem is unlikely to return to a tennis court in 2021.

Thiem said on Twitter: “I’ve been following the medical advice – my recovery was going really well but last week I hit a ball in training and started to feel some pain again.” He added in another tweet: “After some tests, they said that my wrist needs more time, so we’ve all agreed on being conservative to give my wrist some time to recover.”

Dominic Thiem knows that this year he will not be able to defend his title as champion of the US Open 2020. But he has much more to offer, in 2022 the tournaments will be waiting for him with his wrist completely healthy and he being one of the best in the ATP ranking.

Nonetheless, as it usually happens, multiple superstars won’t take part in the competition, either due to injury or personal reasons. This time, Australian star Dominic Thiem will be one of the biggest names that will be nowhere to be found on the slate.

The U.S. Open champion recently announced his decision not to take part in the Olympics as he looks to get back from an injury. That’s a huge blow for tennis fans as he’s currently the 6th-best player on the planet.

Tokyo 2020: Why Is Thiem Not Playing At The Olympics?

“For me, like all athletes, taking part in the Olympics and representing my country is a huge honor and that makes this decision even tougher,” Thiem said in a statement. “However, 2021 did not start as expected and I don’t feel ready to play my best in Tokyo.”

“After talking with my team and analyzing the situation I have taken the very difficult decision to withdraw from competing in the Tokyo Olympics. I am young and I hope to be able to play for Austria at the Olympics in Paris 2024,” he added.

It’s also worth noting that Thiem didn’t take place in the Rio Olympics in 2016 either, even though it wasn’t due to his health. He was saving himself for an ATP tournament in Mexico which he ended up losing due to injury. Thiem has lost in the last three majors he’s played since winning the U.S. Open last September.

Notably, Thiem won’t be the only big name to skip the tournament, as Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep, and Serena Williams will also be forced to miss the festivities.