10 Minutes of Tennis: Dominic Thiem Retires “too early”
Episode #85 Season 24: Shaun Boyce & Justin Yeo
On this week’s episode, we tackle one of the most fascinating subjects in professional tennis right now: the shocking retirement of Dominic Thiem. What makes a Grand Slam champion walk away from the game? What does his story tell us about the grueling nature of the modern tennis tour?
World-famous tennis coach Justin Yeo joins host Shaun to discuss training practices behind the scenes that shed light on the physical, emotional, and mental toll on the best players in the world.
This is not just a conversation about tennis; it’s a meditation on resilience and balance, on the hard choices facing every athlete when their body and passion collide.
About the Guest
Justin Yeo is not just a tennis coach — he’s a lifelong student and teacher of the game. Justin, originally from Australia but now coaching in Puerto Rico, has spent decades working with players of all ages and at all levels — from the first time a toddler picks up a racket to a professional trying to break through into elite competition.
Justin shares anecdotes from his career, insights into player development, and actionable advice that can inspire players at all levels.
In this episode, he unpacks the journey of Dominic Thiem, and breaks down learnings and lessons from the wins and the losses that every listener can identify with.
Key Highlights of the Podcast
- Dominic Thiem’s Retirement: We start the episode with a deep dive into Thiem’s announcement and the reasons for it. Justin and Shaun also examine whether his story is a cautionary tale for future players or a natural consequence of elite sport.
- The Physical Demands of the Tour: Modern tennis is not a game, but a marathon. Justin writes about the way the imposing tour schedules and demanding playing styles of today’s game test even the most fit athletes in the sport. Find out how to rest, recover, and manage a long career in this physically punishing sport matter.
- Comparing Generations: Why players like Rafael Nadal and Djokovic have so much longevity compared to others. Shaun and Justin juxtapose legends of the game with rising stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, looking at what separates the greats and what the youngsters can learn from their careers.
- The Change in Training: You don’t just walk in, jump on a machine and hop off. Justin dives into how preparation for players has turned into a science, with maintenance and injury prevention now accounting for 30-40% of what they do.
- Takeaway Tips: This episode contains valuable advice for everyone from the recreational players to aspiring champions, from the need for having the right technique to the crucial aspect of having the right team.
Who Should Listen to This?
- Fanatics (Tennis): If you’re enthralled by the sport, what you find in this episode is a glimpse of what professional tennis is really like, as well as the personal stories behind the headlines.
- Players of All Levels: If you play casually or have dreams of turning pro, you’ll find tips for training smarter, managing injuries and keeping your passion for the game alive.
- Coaches and Trainers: Discover from one of the best in the business about what it takes to develop talent and bring support to players so they can perform at their best.
- Sports fans: Even if you don’t follow tennis, this episode exposes you to the sacrifices, victories and humanity of top-level athletes.
- Anyone Struggling: The themes of resiliency, balance and powering through hard times extend well beyond the court, making this a story anyone can relate to.
Share Your Story
We want to hear from you! What did you think of the challenges and demands of professional tennis? Then have you ever had to overcome a challenge on your own tennis journey—or in life—that you thought was impossible to surmount?
We believe in the power of stories. So whether it’s a question, an anecdote, or simply your take, your voice matters. To share your words, visit My Tennis Story. You may even help inspire our next episode!
YouTube Replay: https://www.youtube.com/live/zUeNMgcBGic?si=K8KekCQ9Fo9kZvrn
Shaun Boyce USPTA: shaun@tennisforchildren.com
https://tennisforchildren.com/
Justin Yeo: https://www.instagram.com/yeocoach/
Bobby Schindler USPTA: schindlerb@comcast.net
https://windermerecommunity.net/
Geovanna Boyce: geovy@regeovinate.com
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Transcript
[Music]
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Speaker:Hey, hey, this is Shaun with the Atlanta Tennis Podcast,
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Speaker:It is going to be awesome.
Speaker:Today, 10 minutes of tennis with World renowned Tennis Coach, Australian in Puerto Rico.
Speaker:Of course, who knows where he is today?
Speaker:Justin, yeo, thank you so much for taking the time.
Speaker:Today, we're talking about Dominic Thiem, who has retired, I guess last week, he retired.
Speaker:And just couldn't take it physically.
Speaker:Justin, is this a warning or is this just an example of how it usually happens?
Speaker:Yeah, well, Thiem has also been very, I guess, spoken out about how tough and how grueling the tour is.
Speaker:If you probably just before he even said all that,
Speaker:Alcharez and Sinner have been saying for quite some time that this is the tour is a lot tough
Speaker:and a lot longer and a lot further than it ever has before.
Speaker:So expectations are probably a little too high as well for players.
Speaker:So it is definitely something that Federer has brought up in the past as well.
Speaker:And he joined the player association to try to help protect the players
Speaker:to get them more money at the lower end,
Speaker:that then they could keep their bodies and we didn't see so many players lose and drop out.
Speaker:And then the other side of it was just how grueling the tour has become.
Speaker:So it has been a big conversation about giving them more of an off season.
Speaker:But I don't think his was necessary an off season.
Speaker:His was just, he was a hard worker.
Speaker:He was really, you know, believed in the work ethic.
Speaker:But I have my questions as a talent development coach from Australia doing this,
Speaker:from seeing ages from three or four to all the way to pro level.
Speaker:We always say that you've got to take care of the hips, the shoulders, the wrist.
Speaker:The knees. And if you don't do a lot of this stuff as a junior because you feel invincible,
Speaker:there's a lot of things you can catch up with you.
Speaker:And we've seen Del Potro, we've seen David Nelbandian, we've seen some really good players that
Speaker:were peaking and doing really well. But, you know, Andrews caught up.
Speaker:And it's actually can't say Andrews just recurring overdone joints that were tweaking a little bit.
Speaker:And then eventually just got to the point where he can't do it anymore, which is where Nidalis,
Speaker:I mean, Federis Neu was.
Speaker:I want to quote from Dominic Thiem. He says, quote, I think the way we do the sport,
Speaker:it's not healthy. And at one point, one or more of your parts of your body break down.
Speaker:He says, you can see it with almost every player. There's no player who comes injury free through
Speaker:their career. That's just the way of professional sport. And in my case, it was the wrist.
Speaker:And this is from, so I quoted properly the guardian, I think.
Speaker:And they've done a good article on what he's doing and why he's done.
Speaker:And in this case, you mentioned Del Potro wrist as well. And I remember that clearly.
Speaker:But it's the question then is it's a little bit of a chicken in the egg is probably the wrong example.
Speaker:But is it bad training or is it just physically, you know, my body couldn't take it.
Speaker:And Rogers could, we all wish we had the efficiency that Roger even appeared to have,
Speaker:even though he worked a little bit harder at times than you would have wanted him to.
Speaker:But the efficiency of winning points has got to be tough because if team wanted to win another
Speaker:major, he needed to stay healthy and he admits something went wrong somewhere.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah. Again, we need to learn from it because if we,
Speaker:if we look at the way that played the ball, the way that struck the ball,
Speaker:Federer had like Eastern forehand grip. So he used a ton of wrist.
Speaker:You know, he had a very late lag on Federer's forehand. So you would think, you know, similar to the
Speaker:team and he's going to have some kind of wrist issues. He hit a big one hand, a backhand just like team.
Speaker:So where, what was the difference between him going till 39, almost 40 years of age with a still
Speaker:healthy wrist? It was only his knee that pulled him out. So, you know, but coming back to what he was
Speaker:saying that there's always one injury or one something that that recurs. Yeah, he's right. I mean,
Speaker:there's a lot of players that walk on a court, saw an injured every single day. I mean,
Speaker:Djokovic they called him the rubber man, but if you really look at him, he's got a lot of K-Tape
Speaker:all over him and it happens a lot. It's just we don't take note to it because they just get out there
Speaker:d they do it every day. Nadal:Speaker:if he doesn't stop, if he doesn't slow down, he's going to have all these other long-term injuries,
Speaker:you know, and it was only till this year, you know, 20 years later, or not 20 years, but 15 years later,
Speaker:he's only just hanging up the racket. Yeah, and you mentioned the fact that the schedule is long,
Speaker:but it's not like a team sport where you're forced to play when the coach puts you in. These guys can
Speaker:manage their own schedule. And I can't, you want to be number one in the world, you got to get the
Speaker:right number of points. I understand that. But if we look at, you know, the comments here and I
Speaker:of the article happened to be looking at is about him giving it 100% he was fit, he was a hard worker
Speaker:and they say he was tireless. He played weak after weak, rarely after coming up for error.
Speaker:Is that not a red flag right there that you're just not taking the weeks off that you need to?
Speaker:Maybe. I mean, part of the players now, they say, you know, close to 30 to 40% of their daily
Speaker:routine is maintenance and it never used to be that way. It used to be, I don't know, 60, 70% on court,
Speaker:20% or 30% almost was training like gym training and doing all the other stuff. And then your bands
Speaker:and all the other stuff were just like, oh man, just let me bend over. Okay, I'm good ready to go.
Speaker:You know, and then even the warmups like, you know, I mean, back in the days, you know, I've talked to
Speaker:John Newcombe and they used to take a shuttle whiskey. I mean, there's all sorts of stuff that you
Speaker:can say, the history of the sport to where it is now. And now it is definitely about a real athlete
Speaker:if you're going to make it in this game. You know, we can't say that there's just talent because
Speaker:you definitely need talent. There's no question. The hand-eye is, you've got to be invincible on the
Speaker:hand-eye, but at the same time, physicality and mental is everything now. You've got to be a real
Speaker:pure athlete now, you know. You need the talent, of course, which talent isn't necessarily something
Speaker:you're born with. You can earn that. You can go out and practice and become talented.
Speaker:You need the genetics. Today, these guys are 6'3", 6'4", and that makes a huge difference. You need the
Speaker:the coach and the team and everybody helping you with everything. And in that case, you need all of
Speaker:those things to get to the top, so to speak. And just getting there is one thing. Staying there is
Speaker:the next question then. If the guys are 21 years old and at the top of the game right now,
Speaker:Sinner and Alcaraz, as you mentioned, if those guys are already complaining about how hard the
Speaker:season is, well, you know what guys? Take a week off. You are independent contractors. Take a
Speaker:deep breath when you need one and quit your complaining. Am I missing something?
Speaker:Well, you may be because there's a lot of endorsements. There's a lot of agents. There's a lot of
Speaker:other things that you're responsible for. And you feel you're on a roll, so you don't want to stop.
Speaker:Like, I mean, you know, as any tennis player, if you feel good, you want to get back out of the court.
Speaker:And, you know, we all still do that. It's, I think the big one, as you said, they need to take a
Speaker:breath. They need to take some space. It could be also back in the early days where players came up
Speaker:quick and they just didn't have the team around them. And that's where a lot of things came unseen,
Speaker:I guess. And then they come out later when you can't really fix something, you know, because
Speaker:that's already done. So yeah, there's a balancing act there. That's why Federer is talking about,
Speaker:you know, it's not a fair playing game for a guy who's 500 or a thousand in the world. He's playing
Speaker:up against guys that have a whole team in their booth. And this guy, you know, can barely, I've always
Speaker:said it. It's not easy for a tennis pro to bend over and do his shoe laces and take his shoes off
Speaker:to the end of the day, you know. Even my wife, I get hurt and massage my knee because if I lean
Speaker:over to bend my knee, to exercise or massage my knee, my hip tightens up and then I'm not loosening
Speaker:up the muscles correctly that need to loosen up around the knee. So you need a team, you need someone
Speaker:to support, you need to help, especially to do that many grueling hours on the court right now.
Speaker:You know, I know you hit that ball so much harder than anybody else, you know. So physical is not
Speaker:going to stop. It's going to be about maintenance and then obviously longevity of how much you've
Speaker:got the spirit, you know, I mean, we've got a lot of it. Yeah, I just don't think we're going to see
Speaker:many love ravi underdyle for a long time. That guy was just the ball. He was called the ball for a reason.
Speaker:You know, he went through injuries, he went through taping, he went through taking six to eight to
Speaker:nine months off and then coming back and just showing it again over and over and over. So who knows team
Speaker:team maybe needs to take a year or two off and maybe he'll do just like Murray and come back again.
Speaker:That's sort of the thing these days. I'm retiring again. You know, I'm retirement. It's coming up.
Speaker:Well, Justin, we will definitely miss Dominic Thiem, but you will see you again next week. So this
Speaker:has been 10 minutes of tennis with Justin. Yo, I appreciate your time and we'll miss Dominic Thiem,
Speaker:but we always get to see you every week. So thank you, sir. I appreciate it. Good luck Dominic.
Speaker:Go again. We'll see you when you on retire in a few years. Yeah, yeah, keep it up, buddy. Thanks,
Speaker:mate. See you later. See you.
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