That long wait is finally over. On Thursday, the Austrian announced that he will take a wild card into the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open, an ATP Challenger Tour event in Marbella, Spain. The Challenger 125-level tournament will start on Monday.
“I want to start getting contact with the competition after all these months and I believe this is the right way to start,” said Thiem on Instagram. “It’s been a very, very tough period for me and to go back to competition is what I have been waiting for so long and as you know I had a lot of setbacks. I know this will be a slow process of getting back to the top level, but I am ready to work hard and start humble.”
Thiem joins fellow former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka as main draw wild cards. The tournament revealed Wawrinka’s participation on Monday. It marks the first time that two former Top 3 players will compete at the same Challenger event.
Thiem was last seen at the Mallorca Championships in June, when he retired from his first-round match against Adrian Mannarino with the wrist injury. Wawrinka, meanwhile, suffered a foot injury in March 2021 and has not played since the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
Hi everyone, I wanted to let you know that I will be playing this upcoming week a tournament in Marbella, Spain. I want to start getting contact with the competition after all these months and I believe this is the right way to start.
Full statement:https://t.co/RADV7mgBFU pic.twitter.com/1Tapwgpi69
— Dominic Thiem (@domithiem) March 24, 2022