Roger Federer Proclaims ‘Bittersweet’ Retirement From Tennis

The tip of an period. Roger Federer introduced that he’ll retire from tennis following his look on the Laver Cup later this month.

“As a lot of you recognize, the previous three years have introduced me with challenges within the type of accidents and surgical procedures,” the athlete, 41, wrote in an emotional letter shared via Instagram on Thursday, September 15. “I’ve labored arduous to return to full aggressive type. However I additionally know my physique’s capacities and limits, and its message to me currently has been clear.”

The 20-time Grand Slam winner continued: “I’m 41 years previous. I’ve performed greater than 1,500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has handled me extra generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I have to acknowledge when it’s time to finish my aggressive profession.”

The Switzerland native went on to say that his remaining occasion with the ATP Tour would be the Laver Cup, which is able to start in London on Friday, September 23. “I’ll play extra tennis sooner or later, in fact, however simply not in Grand Slams or on the tour,” he added. “This can be a bittersweet determination, as a result of I’ll miss every little thing the tour has given me. However on the identical time, there may be a lot to have fun. I contemplate myself one of the crucial lucky folks on Earth. I used to be given a particular expertise to play tennis, and I did it at a stage that I by no means imagined, for for much longer than I ever thought attainable.”

The Olympic gold medalist additionally thanked his spouse, Mirka Federer, and the couple’s 4 youngsters for his or her help through the years. The duo, who tied the knot in 2009, are the parents of two sets of twins: Myla and Charlene, 13, and Leo and Lenny, 8.

“Seeing my household cheering me on from the stands is a sense I’ll cherish endlessly,” the five-time U.S. Open winner wrote.

Roger has one of many best aggressive data in tennis historical past, however as he talked about, the previous a number of years of his profession have been affected by a collection of well being points. After present process two knee surgical procedures in 2020, he returned to tennis the next 12 months however withdrew from both the Australian Open and French Open whereas he recovered. He underwent one other knee surgical procedure in August 2021 and subsequently withdrew from the U.S. Open.

The tennis nice’s determination to retire comes weeks after Serena Williams, one other large of the game, announced that she would also leave pro tennis behind after the U.S. Open, which wrapped up earlier this month.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist, 40, revealed the information within the September cowl story of Vogue, explaining that she and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, are planning to expand their family. The duo welcomed daughter Olympia, 5, in October 2017.

“Consider me, I by no means needed to have to decide on between tennis and a household,” Williams wrote in her essay. “I don’t suppose it’s truthful. If I have been a man, I wouldn’t be scripting this as a result of I’d be on the market enjoying and successful whereas my spouse was doing the bodily labor of increasing our household. … I positively don’t wish to be pregnant once more as an athlete. I have to be two ft into tennis or two ft out.”