Over the past week, there is nothing but talk of Roger Federer’s imminent retirement. All the fans were hoping for a last ride in 2023, but the physical condition of the Swiss forced him to make a very difficult decision.
The former world number 1 will end his legendary career at the end of the Laver Cup, where he will only play doubles on Friday night (presumably with Rafael Nadal). The 41-year-old from Basel has undergone three knee operations in the last two and a half years and has never abandoned the desire to return to the field, testing to his unconditional love for the sport.
Earlier this summer, the King realized that a return to the tour would be impossible. “It is not just the knee, it is the whole body that has been subjected to enormous stress” – confided his historic trainer Pierre Paganini in a recent interview.
20 Slams, 103 ATP titles and 28 Masters 1000 are just some of the numbers that have made the Master one of the greatest athletes ever.
Federer on his retirement
“The last few years were hard for me, but I think they were even harder for her.
She really didn’t enjoy watching me anymore, with all the injuries. I felt kind of sorry for her,” said Roger Federer in a tweet by Simon Graf, sports editor of Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger. The decision was actually made a couple of months prior – a few days after Wimbledon in July.
“A few days after Wimbledon, in July. The knee just wasn’t progressing anymore. I asked myself: what’s the point? We had been on thin ice for a long time. I know it’s the right decision, the only good decision, ” said Roger Federer in a separate tweet by Graf.
“At first I was sad, then I pushed it away. Then came the process of writing the letter and telling everyone. It tears you up a bit, but it was also extremely good for me,” said Roger Federer. “Three or four weeks ago, I couldn’t have imagined picking up a microphone at the Laver Cup and talking about it.
And then there would be another party…. Because that was always important to me: It shouldn’t feel like a funeral, more like a party,” Federer added. Federer, in the same article in Tages-Anzeiger, also touched on his kids being saddened about his decision to retire, asking him if that meant not being able to travel to his tournament sites.
“They were very emotional. Three out of four cried. They asked: Are we not going to Halle, to Wimbledon, to Indian Wells anymore? I said: Not really. But if you want, we can go again,” said Federer.