Federer postponed his retirement announcement to allow Serena Williams her moment

Roger Federer was supposed to announce his retirement sooner than he did but he wanted to allow Serena Williams to have her moment.

Williams announced her retirement from tennis in a Vogue piece leading up to the US Open with a couple of North American events serving as a bit of a farewell tour. Federer was supposed to announce his retirement not long after she did but his father revealed that he postponed it in order to allow Williams all the spotlight as she was saying goodbye to tennis.

Speaking to the Tages-Anzeiger, he said:

"The bigger problem was finding the time and place to announce it. It was autumn again, the US Open was over. This wouldn't have been the ideal time for Rogi, especially since it was also about Serena Williams, who resigned there"

He added:

"It couldn't have been better and the timing was right too. It was very emotional for everyone, not only for Rogi but also for the players. Nadal in particular was very touched."