20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer revealed that his retirement decision came a few days after Wimbledon. Federer, who underwent a third knee surgery in 2021 August, noticed that his knee wasn’t progressing as expected and it was clear to him to making a comback would be impossible.
“A few days after Wimbledon, in July,” Federer revealed, per Tennis365. “The knee just wasn’t progressing anymore. I asked myself: what’s the point? We had been on thin ice for a long time. I know it’s the right decision, the only good decision.
I am quite surprised how well I am playing in practice here. But it was already clear beforehand that I would only play doubles, probably on Friday evening. That’s why playing the Swiss Indoors in Basel was no longer an option.
It was tough, the whole comeback was extremely difficult. I was so far from 100 percent. Reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon was unbelievable for me. The last set against [Hurbert] Hurkacz was one of the worst hours of my career”.
Federer announced his retirement two months later
Two months after his decision was made, Federer went public with retirement announcement. Last Thursday, Federer announced that this week’s Laver Cup would be the final tournament of his career.
Federer announced his retirement by posting a letter he wrote and signed on his social media accounts. “Tony (Godsick) [Federer’s agent] almost went crazy because I took so much time,” Federer said. “Since it’s out, I’m better.
Writing the letter took a lot of energy. It was very moving, especially for my parents and [my wife] Mirka. In the meantime I can talk about the resignation easily, I didn’t expect that.” Federer was initially hoping to play the Laver Cup and then Basel in October. For this week, Federer plans to play just one doubles match at the Laver Cup on Friday.
