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On 15 September, Roger Federer, one of the best tennis players in the world, announced his official retirement from competitive tennis. In his letter to the tennis world, he stated that he won’t be participating in any of the four Grand slams or tours anymore but will be involved in the game but just not professionally.
The Laver cup in London next week will be the last ATP tour of his tennis career. He has not been actively present in the Grand Slams for the past three years because of his injuries and surgeries. This 41-year-old tennis player might be retiring from professional tennis, but he will forever remain in the hearts of his tennis fans and fellow contemporaries who still look up to him as the greatest tennis player of all time.
The Laver Cup next week will be his last stint on a court and the fans who have already pre-booked the tickets to the event will be calling themselves doubly lucky since it will be the last time the world will witness Federer playing on the court.
Federer played the sport with utmost honesty and grace, and even in his retirement announcement, there was a reflection of himself as he thanked his family and fans for supporting him throughout his incredible adventure of a journey.
A Look at Federer’s Tennis Journey
He started his tennis dream by being a ball boy at his hometown Basel tournament, the Swiss Indoors, in 1992 and 1993. Little did he know that from being a ball boy, he would go on to become one of the most celebrated tennis players of all time.
Roger Federer along with Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic is considered the ‘Big Three as they have dominated the tennis arena for the longest period by being the most successful tennis players of all time.
Federer was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times.
He has won 103 ATP singles titles, the second most of all time, including 20 Grand Slam singles titles, a record eight men's singles Wimbledon titles, an Open Era record-tying five men's singles US Open titles, and a record six year-end championships. His achievements remain unmatched but Djokovic and Nadal being younger than Roger in age and more active have surpassed the latter in winning more Grand slams.
Why Federer is considered the GOAT
It is known to only a few that Federer understood the science of his sport. There is a popular theory among fans that Federer’s greatness is appreciated more by those who have played sport with some seriousness. If one has analyzed his playing style and been following his matches they would know that he perfected the complex geometry of the rectangle box.
He never took an extra step to reach the ball and it was this that made him look unhurried and effortless on the court.
It is difficult to find a flaw in the Swiss legend, both on and off the court. When he was at his peak, it was difficult for other players to outdo him. He achieved so much for himself and for the sport too that it is difficult to keep up with the numbers.
It is an interesting fact that unlike other tennis players across the world, Roger never retired from any of his matches during his entire career. Not once in any of his tennis tournaments did he retire despite his injuries during the match.
It is common for players to retire during matches due to unfortunate injuries they succumb to on the court. For instance, Sascha Zverev, a German tennis player retired from the French Open 2022 due to his ankle injury.
Record-Breaking Achievements
Roger Federer is the first men's singles tennis player to have reached ten consecutive Grand Slam tournament finals and a total of 31 Grand Slam finals to date.
He has represented his homeland Switzerland by earning a men's doubles gold medal, and a men's singles silver medal at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012, respectively. As mentioned earlier, he has spent the second most time on the ATP rankings for being the no. 1 for consecutive 310 weeks.
Federer has won the ATP Player of the Year five times (2004–07, 2009), and has been named the ITF World Champion five times (2004–07, 2009). He has won the ATP Fans' Favorite award a record 18 times consecutively (2003–20), and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (voted for by the players) a record 13 times (2004–09, 2011–17) which reflects the amount of respect and popularity he receives from his beloved fans.
He also won the ‘Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award twice in 2006 and 2013, the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award five times (2005–08, 2018), and the Laureus World Comeback of the Year award once, following his 2017 comeback season.
Conclusion
Roger Federer might be retiring from professional tennis once and for all but he will always remain in the hearts of his fans and competitors with whom has shared a lifetime of memories both on and off the court. He will be missed during the tours and Grand Slams season, especially Wimbledon where he had been a much-loved champion of the grass court.
Written by Chitra Gangwani
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