Revealed on 16 Sep 2022 7:10 pm (UK Time)
20-time tennis Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has launched an emotional two-page letter asserting his ‘bittersweet’ resolution to retire from tennis on the age of 41. The ‘Swiss-maestro’ as he’s identified by his followers world wide, took to social media to reminisce about his ‘wonderful journey of a profession and to announce that he will likely be saying goodbye to tennis after the Laver Cup in London later this month.
The information of Federer’s retirement comes just a few weeks after 23-time girls’s champion Serena Williams entered retirement after taking part in her final skilled tennis match within the third spherical of the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. The farewell of two of tennis’ biggest gamers lower than 2 weeks aside means that the ‘golden era’ of tennis, spanning over 4 many years is coming to an in depth.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal shake palms after their well-known 5-set thriller within the 2008 Wimbledon last
Roger Federer’s retirement might have come as an upsetting shock for a lot of sports activities followers. Nonetheless, people who intently observe the ATP Tour can have identified that RF’s farewell from tennis has been an actual chance ever since his final Grand Slam look at Wimbledon in 2021.
In January of 2020, Federer sustained a knee damage throughout the Australian Open the place he has gained the singles title 6 occasions. He underwent knee surgical procedure the next month and was absent from the ATP Tour for 13 months till March of 2021 when he appeared on the ATP 250 occasion in Doha, Qatar. Sadly, Fed’s knee damage returned and he underwent one other surgical procedure in August of 2021, forcing him to overlook the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2021 Laver Cup in Boston.
In March this 12 months, the tennis neighborhood erupted with pleasure after Roger posted a brief video of him again on a tennis court docket hitting clear forehands together with his iconic approach. He then posted one other image of his rehab progress, additional hinting at an imminent return to the sport. However this by no means occurred as Federer determined to not compete at Wimbledon in June over issues for his knee well being.
Extra lately, followers turned involved about his look on the Laver Cup after Swiss media reported that the tennis star had “liquid in his right knee”, forcing him to scale back his coaching – one more setback for Fed. Though Roger Federer’s retirement has dealt an enormous blow to the sports activities world, it’s clear the 41-year-old has been coping with ongoing painful accidents for 3 years. He acknowledged, “I know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear”.
Roger Federer: “To my tennis family and beyond”
Tennis followers weren’t the one folks affected by the information of Roger’s farewell to tennis. Many tennis gamers have additionally expressed their unhappiness over Federer’s announcement. Shut pal and rival Rafael Nadal took to social media to put up a message to Roger. He described it as a “sad day personally and for sports around the world”. The brand new world No. 1 and up to date US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz additionally posted a picture of Roger with the caption ‘Roger…’ and a damaged coronary heart emoji.
Roger Federer’s profession in numbers
Roger Federer’s skilled profession spanned 23 years and in that point, the Swiss tennis legend amassed some spectacular achievements. Listed below are a few of his most spectacular ones:
- 20 Grand Slam titles
- 31 Grand Slam finals
- 36 consecutive appearances in Grand Slam quarter-finals
- 8 Wimbledon titles – probably the most achieved by any male participant
- 6 Australian Open titles
- 5 US Open titles
- 1 French Open title
- 1,251 / 1,526 profession matches gained
- 310 weeks spent because the world No 1
- 103 profession titles (second behind Jimmy Connors)
- 65 consecutive matches gained on grass between 2003 and 2008
- 3 seasons the place Roger Federer reached the finals of all 4 Grand Slams
- 2 Olympic medals (gold in doubles in 2008 and silver in singles in 2012)
- $130.5m in profession prize earnings (roughly £114m)
- $550m est internet value
How do you’re feeling about Roger Federer’s retirement and what’s his biggest second in tennis? – Tell us!
