Roger Federer, the stylish Swiss champion of 20 grand slams, will play the final matches of his career at next week’s Laver Cup after announcing his retirement from professional tennis.
Federer, whose stellar career has spanned almost a quarter of a century, has not played since last summer, when he lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the Wimbledon quarter-finals shortly before undergoing surgery on his right knee for the third time in 18 months.
Few champions have proved more enduring – Federer was 36, the oldest grand slam champion since Ken Rosewall in 1972, when he won his last major at the Australian Open in 2018 – but, as he explained in a farewell letter published on social media, a combination of age, injuries and the surgeon’s knife have taken an inevitable toll.
“I’ve worked hard to return to full competitive form,” wrote Federer. “But I also know my body’s capacity and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear.
“I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognise when it is time to end my professional career.”
“I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in grand slams or on the tour.”
Federer, who hinted that the end was near shortly after his surprise appearance at the Centre Court centenary celebrations on Wimbledon’s middle Sunday, won 103 tour-level titles – second only to Jimmy Connors – including a record eight men’s singles crowns at the All England Club.
His brilliance, which set such a high bar for Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, was accompanied by endurance. The dominant player of the noughties, Federer held the No 1 ranking for a record 237 weeks before he was dethroned by Nadal in August 2008. A decade later, following his sixth and final victory at Melbourne Park, he became the oldest No 1 since the ATP rankings were inaugurated in 1973.
Yet Federer’s impact on the sport ranged far beyond mere trophies and statistics. He mined the innate beauty of the game, the natural elegance of his strokes and balletic grace of his movement converting casual followers of the sport into disciples, and piquing interest among the uninitiated. You might not have known tennis but, whoever and wherever you were in the world, you knew Federer.
“The last 24 years on tour have been an incredible adventure,” wrote Federer. “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.
“I have had the immense fortune to play in front of you in over 40 countries. I have laughed and cried, felt joy and pain, and most of all I have felt incredibly alive.”
Chief among the host of people to whom Federer paid tribute for their contribution to his career was his “amazing wife”, Mirka, whom he met at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and married nine years later.
“I would like to especially thank my amazing wife Mirka, who has lived through every minute with me,” said Federer, who also thanked the couple’s “four wonderful children” for their support, which he said had created “wonderful memories”.
“She has warmed me up before finals, watched countless matches even while over eight months pregnant, and endured my goofy side on the road with my team for over 20 years.”
Federer’s final farewell was, arguably, his most poignant.
“To the game of tennis,” he wrote, “I love you and I will never leave you.”