Roger Federer introduced in a letter Thursday that he’d be retiring from tennis. (You also can hear him read it, however it might induce blubbering—hypothetically talking.) The 41-year-old final competed at Wimbledon in 2021, the place he misplaced within the quarterfinals. Soon after that loss, he introduced that he’d be present process surgical procedure, his third process on his proper knee in an 18-month span. As of final week, he was reportedly still playing by ache.
“As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries. I’ve worked hard to return to full competitive form,” Federer wrote in his assertion. “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.”
Federer amassed 1,251 wins on tour, second solely to Jimmy Connors. He gained 103 titles, 20 of them on the majors. The closing part of his profession would possibly’ve been probably the most compelling. After a six-month layoff from a surgical procedure on his left knee, Federer entered 2017 with low expectations, solely to beat Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final and win Wimbledon without dropping a set, the yr he turned 36. That kicked off a resurgence in kind, renewing his rivalries in opposition to Nadal and Novak Djokovic. His final main title was the 2018 Australian Open, although he remained within the combine just about till the very finish, most conspicuously in a 2019 Wimbledon closing the place he secured two match factors on his serve earlier than—hmm, I seem to have lost my train of thought.
Federer’s closing occasion can be subsequent weekend’s Laver Cup, his pet undertaking, a workforce competitors that he constructed together with his administration firm. It’s successfully a luxe exhibition. It’s not precisely the Wimbledon sendoff his followers may need envisioned, however it seems that Hubert Hurkacz now has the honors of dispatching the king from formal competitors with an uncharacteristic bagel set. Many of Federer’s information have been overtaken, principally by his two rivals, however he nonetheless claims the longest sustained reign within the No. 1 slot: 237 consecutive weeks from Feb. 2, 2004 to Aug. 18, 2008. I might have about as lengthy to determine what to say about him.
