Watch: Dominic Thiem trains on clay ahead of his comeback
Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem has resumed on-court training. The 28-year-old uploaded a few snippets of his recent practice sessions to Instagram on Thursday.
Thiem damaged the tendons in his right wrist during his second-round match at the 2021 Mallorca Championships, a tune-up event to last year's Wimbledon. A few weeks later, the Austrian announced that he would be skipping the rest of the 2021 season, which meant he had to skip his title defense at Flushing Meadows.
The 2020 US Open winner also opted to miss this year's Australian Open as he was not ready for competitive action. As a result, he has since seen his ATP ranking dip to a lowly No. 37 in the world. However, the Austrian is set to return to action in a few weeks and will hope to climb up the rankings ladder once he is fully fit.
Thiem recently took to social media to post a video of himself performing a groundstroke drill on a claycourt. The 28-year-old showed no signs of discomfort during the session and was seen taking massive cuts at the ball from both wings.
The Austrian also uploaded two separate videos of his training session to his stories on Instagram, where he can be seen working on his forehand. From the looks of things, he has not made any major changes to the shot.
Dominic Thiem on track to return ahead of South American claycourt swing
Dominic Thiem is currently on the entry list for several South American claycourt tournaments, which are scheduled to take place over the next month or so. The 28-year-old could make his comeback at the Cordoba Open, which begins on 31 January.
Dominic Thiem has withdrawn from Australian Open. He intends to return on tour playing tournaments in South America (Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago).
If he doesn't return to action in Cordoba, he is likely to be at the 2022 Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, an ATP 250 claycourt tournament he has won twice in his career. The Austrian has also signed up for the ATP 500 event in Rio, where he will be joined by top players like Matteo Berrettini and Casper Ruud.
ATP500 Rio Open entry list (main draw + alternates) https://t.co/Nlu13SaFiu