"If you're not competitive anymore, then it's better to stop" - Federer gives major retirement hint
ATP
Roger Federer has spoken about life after sport, hinting he will be happy in retirement without playing tennis, after more than 12 months out with a knee injury.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion dropped out of the top 1,000 players in the ATP rankings for the first time since 1997, after being forced to miss out on Wimbledon this year.
In an interview with Dutch newspaper, Algemeen Dagblad, he said that he will be ready to stop when the time comes.
"I am a winner lover, but if you're not competitive any more, then it's better to stop," said Federer. "I don't think I need the tennis. I am happy with the little things, like when my son does something right and when my daughter comes home with a good grade.
“Tennis is part of, but not my entire identity. I want to be and remain successful, and put a lot of energy into business - probably give more than I should sometimes, but that can also be done outside of sports. I know a professional career can't last forever and that's okay."
The Swiss superstar admits it was strange to watch this year’s championships at the All England Club as a spectator, but has enjoyed a greater sense of freedom from not adhering to a grueling tour schedule.
“It feels very strange for me not to play Wimbledon this year and to watch it on TV, as I've been there every time since 1998," admitted the eight-time champion. “But I've been on the road for so long that it was also nice to experience a little more peace and to be in one place more often, which already happened due to the coronavirus. It gave me the opportunity to selectively sort out my travels and give something back. Many friends always came to see me, now I could turn it around.
"At times we miss travelling the world, and of course I also miss the sport, but also feel: life at home in a, let's say, normal way, is also good.”
The 40-year-old could make a return to action at the Laver Cup in September, and at the Swiss Indoors in Basel at month later.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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