Wrist injury sending Thiem into retirement

Former U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem plans to retire at the end of the year after struggling to return to his top form following a wrist injury.

“I am going to finish my career with the end of this season,” Thiem said Friday in a video posted on Instagram, calling it a “very sad but also very beautiful message.”

The 30-year-old Austrian player won his only Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows in 2020. His five-set victory over Alexander Zverev made Thiem the first man to overcome a two-set deficit in a U.S. Open final in 71 years.

He reached a career-high No. 3 ranking in 2020 and stayed in the top 5 until he injured his right wrist in June 2021, which sidelined him for nine months and has hampered his game ever since.

Thiem has won 17 titles.

Two more low-ranking tennis players

linked to a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium have been banned from the sport, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Friday.

Alejandro Crespo, a 34-year-old Bolivian, was banned for life and fined US$250,000 for his “continuous pattern of corruption.”

Jorge Panta Herreros, a 28-yearold Peruvian, was suspended for three years and fined $10,000 for fixing the result of two matches.

The two joined at least 15 other players suspended for having links to the match-fixing syndicate run by Grigor Sargsyan.