Arguably the greatest Tennis player ever Roger Federer, who has won 20 Grand Slam titles, announced his retirement on Thursday. The 41-year-old took to Twitter to make a formal announcement.
Of all the gifts that tennis has given me over the years, the greatest, without a doubt, has been the people I’ve met along the way: my friends, my competitors, and most of all the fans who give the sport its life. Today, I want to share some news with all of you,” Federer said.
“I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career,” he added.
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) September 15, 2022
Federer revealed that the Laver Cup will be his last ATP event and after that he will no longer be playing in Grand Slams and on tours. “The Laver Cup next week will be my final ATP event. I will play more tennis in the future of course but just not in grand slams or on the tour. This is a bittersweet decision because I will miss everything the tour has given me. But at the same time, there is so much to celebrate,” the tennis maestro wrote.
Apart from 20 Grand Slam titles, he also won 103 career ATP titles in his career since his debut.
He notched up his first Grand Slam in the year 2003 when he won the Wimbledon title for the first time. Overall, he has snaffled 8 Wimbledon, 6 Australian Opens, 1 French Open and 5 US Open titles. Only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won more Grand Slam titles than him. The famous trio collectively dominated the Tennis landscape for more than a decade.
In recent years, Federer battled many injuries. He went through three knee operations in the last two years and his last competitive match was a quarter-final defeat against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz at the 2021 Wimbledon.