For the first time in 25 years, former world number one
Roger Federer will drop out of the
ATP rankings list at the end of July.
The Swiss ace has been struggling with injuries for a number of
years and has played only a handful of tournaments since 2020. Federer has had a persistent knee injury and has gone under the knife three times in the last 18 months.
He is currently ranked 47th on the rankings thanks to the points he earned during the grasscourt swing three years ago. However, those will fall away in little more than a month’s time, on July 11. Federer has been ranked on the ATP list since 22 September 1997, when
he earned a place as a 16-year-old following some good results in the
Masters Satellites. He entered the top-100 two years later and cracked the top 20 for the first time in February 2001.
He became world number one for the first time in 2004 after winning the
Australian Open title and was a dominant figure on the ATP for the next
four years until the emergence of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as genuine contenders.
He played five tournaments last year, and reached the Wimbledon
quarter-finals – the oldest player in the Open era to do so – but
continued to suffer with knee problems. Federer then had his third operation last year and started his recovery, hoping to return to action at some point in 2022.