In a statement released on Thursday, Roger Federer announced his retirement from professional tennis. The graceful Swiss star dominated men's tennis for two decades, but injuries and surgeries plagued his latter years.
The Swiss player announced his retirement from the ATP competitions on Instagram on Thursday night, stating that next week's Laver Cup in London would be his last tournament. Federer was instrumental in establishing this rivalry between European and American tennis teams, which has now been going strong for five years.
He declared that he will keep on playing tennis in the future, but not on the ATP Tour or at Grand Slam tournaments like Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, which he had previously dominated.
When will Roger Federer retire from ATP?
“Today I want to share some news with all of you… 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. But I also know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear.
"Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it’s time to end my competitive career. This is a bittersweet decision because I will miss everything the tour has given me,” he said.
Throughout most of his career, Federer seemed like he would forever hold the record for most Grand Slam victories won by a male player. With his fifteenth major title in 2009, he surpassed his hero Pete Sampras and remained at the top of the list until 2022. By that time, though, his success had been intertwined with that of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the other two members of tennis' Big Three.
The veteran's injury problems have increased over the last several years. With this year's Australian Open victory, Nadal surpassed his total and is currently in the first position with 22 major championships. He has also won Roland-Garros in 2018. After this year's Wimbledon victory, Djokovic now has 21 titles, one more than Federer.
An astounding eight Wimbledon titles, six Australian Open crowns, five US Open trophies, and one Roland Garros trophy round off his record-setting career. He won 103 tour championships, an Olympic doubles gold medal for Switzerland, and held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 237 consecutive weeks.
