"My grandmother sold her apartment" - Dominic Thiem opens up about his humble beginnings and the pressure that put on him as a teenager

Dominic Thiem recently opened up about his grandmother's contribution to his tennis career. The former Austrian tennis player, who retired last year at 31, revealed his parents and grandparents' investment in his career and how it paid off.

Dominic Thiem's parents, Wolfgang Thiem and Karin Thiem, were professional tennis coaches at Gunter Bresnik’s Academy in Vienna, Austria. It led Thiem to spend his childhood on tennis courts and develop a passion for the sport at the age of four. However, before turning pro in 2011, Thiem also went through a similar problem that the majority of tennis professionals face: financial stability and the pressure that comes with it.

Speaking on the Jot Down Sport podcast, Dominic Thiem shared that his grandmother sold her apartment to invest in his career when he was 14 or 15, and that created a lot of pressure.

"I spent my childhood practically on a tennis court in Lichtenworth," Thiem said. "My parents had a tennis academy there, and when my grandparents couldn't look after me, my parents would take me to the court. At one point, very early, around the age of four, I had a racket in my hand and was playing with great passion.”

"My grandmother sold her apartment, which was obviously an incredible amount of money to invest in my career. Fortunately, the investment paid off. Even though I was probably 14 or 15 and had a lot of other things on my mind, you still realize it as a child, and that creates a lot of pressure,” he added.

Alongside Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem is the only player to have registered at least five wins each against the Big 3 - Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal. Thiem won the 2020 US Open title and reached the finals of the Australian Open in 2020 and the French Open in 2018 and 2019. He achieved his career high ranking of World No. 3 in the men's singles in March 2020 and was tipped for more success after Federer and Nadal's retirements.

However, in June 2021, Dominic Thiem suffered a serious wrist injury that he never recovered from. After his return to court in March 2022, the former World No. 3 failed to win an ATP title and eventually bid adieu to sport at the Vienna Open in October 2024.

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"Tennis is a sport for the rich" - Dominic Thiem reveals training costs

Despite stable financial support from his parents and grandparents, Dominic Thiem was aware of the cost of playing tennis professionally. Speaking on the Jot Down Sport podcast in October 2025, the 2020 US Open winner revealed that, even after finding sponsors, early-age training cost him around €80k per year.

"Tennis is a sport for the rich and that from the age of 13 to 18, you have to invest almost a million euros," Thiem said. "A figure that practically no one can afford and even when you find sponsors or small investors, everything remains very expensive, because from the age of 13 to 18, or until the boy or girl starts earning money, you have to pay between 80,000 and 100,000 euros a year."

The 32-year-old also revealed that he received €80k per year from small investors and repaid it when he turned 21.

"Someone invests 50,000 or 100,000 euros a year in you and, in exchange, receives a percentage of your future earnings, usually capped at a certain maximum. I did it too when I was 15 or 16: I received 80,000 euros a year and paid it back starting at 21, when I started earning much more," Thiem added.

With 17 ATP singles titles, Dominic Thiem ended his career with prize money of $30 million, ranking 17th among men's all-time earnings.