Roger Federer intimated he wants to play Wimbledon again, speaking on Centre Court in a ceremony marking the court’s 100 years.
“I hope I can come back, like you said, one more time,” he said standing next to many past Wimbledon champions at an event emceed by John McEnroe and Sue Barker.
Federer, 40, isn’t playing Wimbledon this year for the first time since 1997, the year before he won the junior title.
The record eight-time men’s singles champion underwent a third knee surgery in an 18-month span after a quarterfinal exit at last year’s Wimbledon. He said last fall that he expected to be out through this year’s Wimbledon.
His agent reportedly said this spring that Federer is targeting for his comeback the Laver Cup, after the U.S. Open in September, and the Swiss Indoors, his home tournament, in October.
Before Sunday, Federer had not said whether he will play Grand Slam tennis again, focusing on his quality of life and his family.
“I’ve missed being here. I would have loved to be here,” Federer said Sunday, noting he didn’t think it would take this long to come back to competitive tennis. “The knee has been rough on me, but I’ve been happy. I’ve been happy at home.”
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With eight singles titles to his name, @rogerfederer 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/ucGLn0wW6q
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2022