AUSTRIA. With the end of Dominic Thiem‘s career, Austria’s only active Grand Slam champion is leaving the tennis stage. For a long time, the Lichtenwörther native was considered the best Austrian tennis player and was able to play red-white-red brilliantly internationally. Now others must follow in his footsteps.
The season is in its late phase, only a few tournaments will take place until the end of the tennis year 2024. For example, the Erste Bank Open is currently running in Vienna, followed by the Paris Masters, the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup finals – all competitions in which Austria has no say.
The highest placed player in the world rankings is currently Sebastian Ofner, who is in 81st place. Unfortunately, he was unable to build on his strong previous year when he reached 37th place. What prevented the Styrian from doing this was an injury to his heel that Ofner sustained in the summer and which was noticeable. The operation followed in September and the 28-year-old has not played a game since.
Rodionov slipped far
Jurij Rodionov, who is not having a good year and is only in 202nd place, has to temporarily follow in his footsteps as Austria’s number one. For comparison: In February, the 25-year-old was 87th among the top 100 in the world. Behind him is Lukas Neumayer as the third highest ÖTV actor in the ranking – he is 258 and has lost 49 places compared to 2023. Filip Misolic, whose highlight of the season was probably reaching the second round at the French Open, is fourth (ATP No. 281). US Open winner Dominic Thiem, who remained in the rankings until the end of the season after retiring, follows in 317th place in the world rankings.
Sandro Kopp is in 337th place, ÖTV talent Joel Schwärzler has already worked his way up to 345th place. Dennis Novak is eighth (ATP No. 375), Neil Oberleitner is ninth (ATP No. 450). The top ten is completed by Maximilian Neuchrist, who is in 503rd place.
Austria’s top ten at a glance:
- Sebastian Ofner (81st place)
- Yuri Rodionov (202)
- Lukas Neumayer (258)
- Filip Misolic (281)
- Dominic Thiem (317)
- Sandro Kopp (337)
- Joel Schwärzler (345)
- Dennis Novak (375)
- Neil Oberleitner (450)
- Maximilian Neuchrist (503)
