Roger Federer reveals emotional strain of announcing retirement

Former world number one Roger Federer has opened up about feelings while announcing retirement from professional sport. The 42-year-old is often regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 20 Grand Slam titles.

In September 2022, Federer finally announced his retirement from professional tennis after struggling with fitness concerns. The announcement came as a shock to many as fans expected him to return to the court at least once before calling it quits.

Amazon Prime, a video streaming service, recently released a documentary on the last few days of Federer’s playing career. The documentary showed the thought process that led to the final decision.

Federer was recently quoted in a report in which he opened about how difficult it was to eventually announce retirement from professional sports because, as an athlete, it gives you the feeling that you are actually announcing your own ‘funeral’.

“Look, it's an incredible feeling,” he said. “Like you're at a kind of funeral of your own life. It's a very strange feeling, to be honest. You are completely alert and experience a great slow-motion blur of everything that is happening. Therefore, watching the documentary is like therapy. In fact, it's very hard for me to see it because I know what I felt then, and you go through it again.”

Federer was the first player in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era to win more than 15 Grand Slam titles. He was also the first to win 20 or more Grand Slams in the men’s singles history.

The Basel-born star’s most successful competition was Wimbledon, where he lifted the title eight times, which is also a record in the competition’s history. His last major triumph came in 2018 when he defeated Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the final of the Australian Open with a score of 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 3–6, 6–1.