Roger Federer said next week’s Laver Cup in London will be his final ATP tennis event.
“I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in Grand Slams or on the tour,” was posted on the 41-year-old’s social media. “This is a bittersweet decision, because I will miss everything the tour has given me. But at the same time, there is so much to celebrate.”
Federer retires with 20 Grand Slam singles titles, third all-time among men behind rivals Rafael Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (21), who are still active. His eight Wimbledon titles are most in men’s history, though Djokovic can match it next year.
Federer hasn’t played tournament tennis since undergoing a third knee surgery in an 18-month span after a quarterfinal exit at last year’s Wimbledon.
“The past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries,” he wrote. “I’ve worked hard to return to full competitive form. But I also know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear. I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career.”
Before Thursday’s announcement, he was expected to compete at the Swiss Indoors, his home tournament, in October, and possibly at least Wimbledon next year.
“I knew a few weeks ago that his rehabilitation with his knee wasn’t going as well as he had hoped. A few weeks after Wimbledon, he informed me that the knee was not reacting as well as it should and that he was thinking about figuring out a way to end his career,” Tony Godsick, Federer’s agent since 2005, said in a telephone interview Thursday.
“I had suggested to him years ago that he should stop. Not many tennis players at his level push into their 40s. But he was always interested in challenging himself,” Godsick said. “And at the end of the day, after 1,500-plus matches, the tires finally wore out. And he’s got things to do in his next stage.”
Federer called his 24 years on tour “an incredible adventure.”
“While it sometimes feels like it went by in 24 hours, it has also been so deep and magical that it seems as if I’ve already lived a full lifetime,” he posted. “I was lucky enough to play so many epic matches that I will never forget.”
Nadal tweeted three hours after the announcement, “I wish this day would have never come. It’s a sad day for me personally and for sports around the world. It’s been a pleasure but also an honor and privilege to share all these years with you, living so many amazing moments on and off the court.”
Federer has a special tie with the Olympics. It is where, in 2000, he met future wife and fellow Swiss Olympic tennis player Mirka Vavrinec and kissed her on the last day of the Games. They now have two sets of twins.
He did well to reach the semifinals at the 2000 Sydney Games, falling to Tommy Haas and then Arnaud Di Pasquale in the bronze-medal match, but said in 2016 that losing two medal matches was “the most disappointed I’ve ever been in my tennis life.”
Federer entered the 2004 Athens Games ranked No. 1 but was upset in round two by 79th-ranked Tomas Berdych (who went on to a strong career and retired in 2019).
At Beijing 2008, Federer was stunned by American James Blake in the quarters and ended a record 237-week run as world No. 1. Nadal took gold and the top spot. Federer did, however, leave with an Olympic gold medal in doubles with Stan Wawrinka.
Federer looked primed for a gold-medal singles run at the 2012 London Games, considering they were played at Wimbledon, where he won seven titles the previous 10 years. But he was swept in the final by Andy Murray, whom he beat in four sets in the Wimbledon final a month earlier.
“Don’t feel too bad for me,” Federer said that day. “It’s not front and center in my mind. But, of course, I’d love an Olympic gold in singles. But I am very happy with an Olympic silver in singles.”
That would be his last Olympic tennis match. He withdrew before the Rio and Tokyo Games due to injuries.
“It’s not my No. 1 goal, or my No. 2 goal,” Federer said of an Olympic singles title in 2016, four months before withdrawing from Rio. “It’s just something I’ve said, maybe I can reach that tournament and then see how it goes.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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To my tennis family and beyond,
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) September 15, 2022
With Love,
Roger pic.twitter.com/1UISwK1NIN
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) September 15, 2022