Dominic Thiem withdraws from Indian Wells and Miami in favor of starting 2022 season on clay

REMEMBER WHEN: Thiem joins TC Live during 2021 US Open

Add Dominic Thiem to the list of absent players from the upcoming Sunshine Double swing in the U.S.

The 2020 US Open champion has further delayed his return from injury, pulling out of Indian Wells and Miami in favor of beginning his comeback during the European clay-court season.

“I had really good practice weeks. The wrist is perfectly fine, the hand is getting better and better,” Thiem said encouragingly on his Instagram story late Sunday evening. “I would have loved to play here in the states.”

Thiem last competed in June 2021 at the grass-court event in Mallorca, where he sustained a tear in his right wrist. When he attempted to start his 2022 campaign in Cordoba last month, the former world No. 3 suffered a separate right finger issue involving a strained ligament.

The 28-year-old joins Roger Federer, Ashleigh Barty, Kei Nishikori and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova among the notable names sidelined from the upcoming pair of 1000-level tournaments in California and Florida. Novak Djokovic is also likely to miss both events as a result of being unvaccinated.

In 2019, Thiem captured the Indian Wells crown, but will now miss consecutive editions after the 2021 staging took place in October.