When one driver after another dropped out in the women’s Super-G in Lenzerheide, someone who is otherwise never seen in the ski circus suffered in the finish area: Roger Federer. The 40-year-old, who is currently out after his knee operation, was relieved that nobody was injured on the difficult course.
The surgery was the right thing. The knee was no longer good after Wimbledon. It couldn’t go on like this.
The tennis star himself is on his way back: “I’m fine. I walked on crutches for 2 months and had to start all over again. But it was the right thing. The knee was no longer good after Wimbledon. It couldn’t go on like this.”
Probably back in the fall
After having to go under the knife last August and then having to learn to walk again, he is currently in the second of three phases: “I’m in the process of rebuilding the whole thing and can now slowly think about my comeback.” A few weeks ago he did an MRI that was “very good” and made him feel confident.
But Federer doesn’t want to be put under pressure, and he’s not in a hurry when he says: “It will definitely take a while.” The veteran himself does not expect to be able to participate again until the end of summer or the beginning of autumn. The tournament in Wimbledon, where Federer fought his last serious fight in the quarter-finals in June 2021, comes too early for the 20-time major winner.
Federer and the snow: that has to wait
It will be a long time before he can let off steam on the ski slopes again. The 40-year-old hasn’t been on skis since 2008: “I was a fast skier and preferred to skip the ‘Bögli’,” he said with a wink. That’s why he decided in 2008 to give up his hobby until the end of his career because of the high risk of injury. At the time he thought it would only take 5 years. “And now, 14 years later, it’s still not that far.” From the point of view of tennis fans, it may take a little longer before Federer is back on the slopes.
