Dominic Thiem’s departure is latest blow for Gerard Pique's embattled Kosmos 

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The double faults are racking up for Gerard Pique’s embattled Kosmos tennis venture.

Less than a month after the implosion of its landmark 25-year Davis Cup agreement with the ITF, former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem has announced he will be departing the ex-footballer’s boutique athlete representation agency Kosmos as he seeks to return to top form.

“My management will not make me a better player, my management will not ignite the fire in me either. No matter who manages me,” Thiem recently told Austria’s Der Standard newspaper. “What comes from outside is not at the moment important. It’s important for me that I fully light the fire.”

“It’s also fair to say they [Kosmos] didn’t have the best luck with me,” he acknowledged. “I signed my contract and then injured my wrist five days later. That was a problem for everyone.”

The 2020 US Open champion joined Kosmos Management in June 2021, becoming the first player to be represented by the Barcelona-based agency.

Now on the comeback trail following a severe right wrist injury, the 29-year-old player seems keen to keep his business interests all in the family. Thiem will be represented by his 23-year-old brother Moritz, a former ATP pro.

“There isn’t much to say about it. The partnership has ended with Kosmos without a lot of controversies or much to say, which was very important for us,” Moritz told Der Standard.

“This is nothing new to me. I have been organizing and making decisions in the background for three years. I want to keep everything completely stress free and on the shortest route where only Dominic and I call the shots."

The brothers will soon take their new partnership on the road, as Dominic, currently ranked world No. 96, is next scheduled to compete in Buenos Aires with a wild card, followed by Rio de Janeiro and Santiago.

Thiem’s departure marks the latest blow for Kosmos, a venture co-founded in 2018 by former FC Barcelona star Pique and Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Rakuten. It serves a holding company with stakes in tennis, soccer, e-sports, athlete representation, entertainment and media.

Kosmos made headlines in 2018 when it signed a 25-year, $3-billion partnership with the ITF in a bid to rescue the struggling Davis Cup competition. But this January, the ITF announced the immediate end of its partnership with the investment group—with Spanish press reporting that a financial dispute between the two parties, who allegedly failed to renegotiate the event’s $40-million annual fee, was the source of the rupture.

In response, Kosmos has taken the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), filing a multi million-dollar lawsuit for an “unjustified termination of the contract”.

But it won’t be the only legal battle for Kosmos and Pique. According to El Economista, the company has also been under investigation by Hacienda, Spain’s top tax office, for “irregular” payments and transfers to the former player related to Kosmos Football’s deal with Saudi Arabia to host the Spanish Super Cup.

In tennis, Kosmos Management continues to represent ATP world No. 5 Andrey Rublev and WTA world No. 8 Daria Kasatkina, as well as Elina Svitolina, Borna Coric, and more.