Roger Federer reveals he was 'relieved' when he retired

August 4, 2023

ATP Tennis Players, Roger Federer, Tennis News

Roger Federer claims he was ‘relieved’ when he retired

Roger Federer has expressed his relief at calling an end to his professional tennis career at the Laver Cup last year, with the Swiss admitting he feels ‘content’ just watching tennis now.

Federer was a professional tennis player for the best part of 25 years and broke many incredible records, including becoming the only man to hold eight Wimbledon singles titles.

However, after several knee injuries that required surgery, Federer was unable to continue competing on the ATP tour and played his final match alongside great rival Rafael Nadal in a doubles contest.

Despite his outpouring of emotions at the time, the 41-year-old has admitted his relief and happiness at calling his career to a halt when speaking to reporters in New York.

“Life without the game, and life without the fans, and life without the schedule that has dominated my life for 25 years has definitely been something I didn’t know how I would take,” explained Federer. “For the longest time, I tried to come back and give it one more shot and leave the game healthy, but it was not doable.”

He continued, “But the good/bad thing about Covid, and with my knee surgery, is that everything started to slow down in the past three years, so it wasn’t like I came from playing 100 matches and then boom, it’s over.’

“At the end I was relieved, I think, and happy to retire. It ended in the most perfect way at the Laver Cup. I was surrounded by my biggest rivals, and my family was there and my friends. For me it felt like, “OK, I’m good now. I don’t need to chase that itch any more.”

Federer received a huge ovation when stepping into the royal box on Centre Court this year, and compared it to the 100-year Wimbledon anniversary in 2022 when he was still not officially retired.

“Last year, I walked out on Centre Court for the 100-year anniversary celebration. It was beautiful but painful,” claimed the former No.1. “I was injured. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play again, so it was a very emotional moment.

“But this year was totally different. My dad whispered to me, “Don’t you wish you were playing on court instead of sitting and watching?” and I was like, “No. I feel content watching and enjoying the game.”

Roger Federer Career Achievements

As Federer explores new ventures post-retirement from professional tennis, we at Tennishead wanted to look back at some of the highlights in the Swiss’ legendary career:

Roger Federer

Career-high: No.1 (310 weeks)

ATP titles: 103

Grand Slam titles: 20

ATP Masters 1000 titles: 28

Olympic medals: 2 (Doubles Gold – 2008, Singles Silver – 2012)

ATP Finals titles: 6 (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 & 2011)

Davis Cup titles: 1 (2014)

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