Roger Federer (41) will end his career next week. The 20-time grand slam winner is retiring after three knee surgeries in less than two years. The Swiss waves goodbye to the tennis crowd at the Laver Cup.
Federer’s future had been questioned for some time: the US Open was already the fifth grand slam tournament in a row without the Swiss. His last official match was in Wimbledon 2021, when he lost in the quarterfinals.
After yet another knee surgery, the 41-year-old tennis legend’s chance of a comeback seemed to be getting smaller and smaller. Federer has now made the decision himself: after the Laver Cup (23-25 September in London) he puts away his tennis racket.
“As many know, the past three years have been full of challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries,” it said in a farewell message. “I’ve worked hard to get competitive again.”
“But I also know the limits of my body and the message is clear. I am 41 years old, I have played more than 1,500 games in 24 years.”
“Tennis has treated me more generously than I could have ever dreamed, but I have to admit it’s time to end my professional career. The Laver Cup in London will be my last ATP tournament.”
“This is a difficult decision because I will miss everything on the track, but at the same time there is so much to celebrate. I got the talent to play tennis and I was able to do it at a level I could never have imagined.”
The last 24 years have been an incredible adventure. Sometimes it seems like it flew by in 24 hours.
Federer thanks in his suicide note, among other things, his wife, children, team, sponsors, but also his opponents on the tennis court. “I’ve been lucky enough to play so many epic matches that I’ll never forget,” he says.
“We fought honestly, with passion and intensity and I have always done my best to respect the history of the sport. We pushed each other forward and took the level to new heights.”
“The last 24 years have been an incredible adventure. Sometimes it seems like it flew by in 24 hours, but it was also so magical that it seems like I’ve already had a full life.”
“I’ve laughed and cried, I’ve felt pleasure and pain… I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who made the dreams of a Swiss ball boy come true.”
20 grandslamtitels
With Roger Federer, one of the greatest champions of tennis disappears. The Swiss has 20 grand slam titles to his name, on the grass of Wimbledon he was allowed to lift the trophy 8 times. Only his great rivals Novak Djokovic (21) and Rafael Nadal (22) have won more Grand Slam titles.
Federer was also for a long time the player who sat on the throne of the ATP ranking for the most weeks, a whopping 310 weeks. He had to give that record to Djokovic at the beginning of 2021, who was number 1 for 373 weeks.
Federer, who took his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003, has been plagued by injuries in recent years. He has had three knee operations in the last two years, but there will be no comeback.
The Swiss will say goodbye next week at the Laver Cup in London (23-25 September).
Federer’s achievements in a nutshell:
- Tournament wins: 103 (2e na Jimmy Connors (109))
- Grandslamzeges: 20 (2 inferior and Nadal, 1 inferior and Djokovic)
- Australian Open: 6 titles (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018), 1 lost final (2009)
- Roland Garros: 1 title (2009), 4 lost finals (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011)
- Wimbledon: 8 titles (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017), 4 lost finals (2008, 2014, 2015, 2019)
- US Open: 5 titles (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008), 2 lost finals (2009, 2015)
- Daviscup: 1 title (2014)
- Olympics: gold in doubles (2008 with Stan Wawrinka), silver in singles (2012)
- Masters: 6 titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011), 4 lost finals (2005, 2012, 2014, 2015)
- Masters 1,000 Tournaments: 28 titels (7x Cincinnati, 5x Indian Wells, 4x Miami, 4x Hamburg, 3x Madrid, 2x Canada, 2x Shanghai, 1x Parijs)
