Roger Federer’s Impending Retirement
On 15 September Roger Federer announced his retirement through a 4 page long letter on social media. Well, this may have come as a shock to many but it is honestly not a huge surprise, especially with his injuries accumulated throughout his 24-year long career. Having gone through multiple surgeries and rehab over the last 3 years, I guess we knew deep down that Roger was going to take a backseat and retire - we just wished it wasn’t going to be this year, or next….
Roger Federer is a former world no. 1, 20-time singles Grand Slam champion and the holder of 103 ATP singles titles. His amazing portfolio and accomplishments in his career is evidence of his greatness.
The Swiss is one of the most well-loved if not the most-loved tennis player of all time. He respects his opponents on-court and stays humble off-court. He has inspired many generations to pick up a tennis racket and will leave behind an incredible legacy.
He is also a philanthropist seeking to make a difference through his non-profit organization, the Roger Federer Foundation, which seeks to increase access to early education for children in six low-income countries.
Roger’s tennis journey progressed from a ball kid in Basel to a junior champion to a multi Grand Slam champion, and now it is time for retirement. However, although he may be retiring from the ATP tour and Grand Slam events, it does not mean that he will be leaving the tennis scene for good. Obviously, the GOAT will stick around, but just not competing for titles and Slams.
The upcoming Laver Cup in London will be Roger’s final ATP event where he will be representing Europe with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. This is the dream team that we are all eagerly looking forward to seeing! The event will surely be an exciting one for long-time tennis fans as it is such a rare sight to see these guys play on the same side.
The retirement of the GOATS - Serena Williams first and now Roger Federer - is a sign of the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. The younger generation has already begun to show us some great tennis, and hopefully the new era will be as compelling.
Roger Federer truly is one of a kind. No one in the world plays quite like him, elegant yet aggressive at the same time. Will there ever be another player who plays as intelligently and beautifully? We will miss his competitive games but we will definitely continue to support his endeavours!
Last but not least, Thank You! Roger!