'I am not yet ready to compete' - Dominic Thiem withdraws from Mubadala Tennis Championship

ByEurosport

Updated 14/12/2021 at 20:16 GMT

Dominic Thiem was due to make his highly anticipated return in Abu Dhabi this week, but he has withdrawn from the exhibition event in order to build on his overall fitness ahead of the 2022 Australian Open. The Mubadala World Tennis Championship is live on Eurosport and discovery+.

Dominic Thiem

Image credit: Getty Images

Dominic Thiem will not take part in the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi this week as he continues to recover from a wrist injury.

The 2020 US Open champion has been away from the ATP tour since injuring his wrist after hitting a forehand in his opening round match against Adrian Mannarino at a Wimbledon warm-up event in Mallorca last summer.

The Austrian was due to join a heavyweight lineup which includes Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray at the exhibition event, used as preparation for the Australian Open in January next year, but he has decided to withdraw from the tournament.

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“I was looking forward to making my return to competition at Abu Dhabi but I feel that I am not yet ready to compete at the highest level," the No. 15 seed wrote on Twitter.

"It’s disappointing to not take part this year but I need to continue my preparation for the upcoming season."

The 28-year-old, who has a 9-9 win-loss record in 2021, was due to make his third career appearance at the Abu Dhabi exhibition event. He was a semi finalist in 2017 and reached the quarter-finals in 2018.

Emma Raducanu tested positive for Covid on Monday while No. 8 seed Casper Ruud has also withdrawn from the tournament through injury. Ons Jabeur, Taylor Fritz and Dan Evans have taken their places.