Roger Federer will officially retire from tennis after Laver Cup: 'I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career'
After 24 years, a little over 1,500 matches and 103 titles, Roger Federer is finally calling it a career.
The tennis savant announced in a statement via Twitter that he’d be stepping away from the game after this month’s Laver Cup in London.
This isn’t as shocking as it is disappointing. After next week, we’ll never get to see Roger Federer play tennis again. It makes sense — he hasn’t played a match in over a calendar year with his last appearance on the tour being in Wimbledon 2021.
It’s just always sad to lose one of the greats. Especially when it comes just a few weeks after another GOAT in Serena Williams announced her retirement too.
Federer’s statement is more like a letter to his sport and his fans.
“I have played more than 1500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generiously than I would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career…The Laver Cup next week in London will be my final ATP event. I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in Grand Slams or on the tour”
While he never officially says “retirement” or “retire” in the statement, it’s pretty clear what he means by all this. He closed it out by saying “Finally, to the game of tennis: I love you and will never leave you.”
What a career for Federer. Well done.