"Dominic Thiem would make this year’s Roland Garros a better event inarguably"- Tennis analyst slams French Open for not giving a wildcard to Austrian

Dominic Thiem has an ally in tennis analyst Gill Gross over the Austrian's snub from the wildcard list by the French Open. Thiem recently announced his impending retirement from tennis after struggling with form and injury for a long time.

Thiem's injury struggles began at the Mallorca Championships in June 2021 during his match against Adrian Mannarino. The Austrian was forced to retire at 5-2 up due to a wrist injury. He was sidelined from tennis till March 2022 when he made a comeback at the Marbella Challenger.

Thiem struggled with form and enjoyed mixed results for the rest of 2022 and 2023. With continued poor results in 2024, Thiem announced in May that he was going to retire at the end of the season. He is set to make his final appearance at his home tournament, the Vienna Open in October.

With this being the last season of Thiem's career, analyst Gill Gross has questioned the decision to not give the former World No. 3 a wildcard for Roland Garros. Gross wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"I am categorically against complaining about who does and does not get wildcards. (Fairness is NOT the point) But I have to make an exception here. Dominic Thiem in the draw would make this year's Roland Garros a better event, inarguably."

While answering a fan's question about how the French Open would be a better tournament with Thiem, Gross said that he would draw international viewership.

"If you had 55 million dollars you wouldn’t turn down an extra million for 250 K. RG will be fine without Domi, but it would be better with him. His 1R match would be an international TV draw and worthy of a main stadium. Most of the WCs they went with are not that," Gill Gross replied.

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Dominic Thiem's record at the French Open

Dominic Thiem at the 2019 French Open

Dominic Thiem's record on the dirt of Roland Garros is stellar. He was once touted as an heir apparent to the King of Clay Rafael Nadal, with the French Open website calling him one of the 'Heirs To The Throne' in 2018.

In 2016, Thiem reached the semifinal at Roland Garros, losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. He reached the semifinal again the following year, losing yet again to an eventual champion, this time to Nadal.

In 2018 and 2019, Thiem reached the final and lost to Nadal on both occasions. In 2020, the Austrian reached the quarterfinal but lost a tightly-contested match against Diego Schwartzman. Thiem suffered first-round exits at the French Open in 2021, 2022, and 2023.