Roger Federer will retire from professional tennis next week at the age of 41 after the Laver Cup in London, marking the end of one of the greatest sporting legend.
A 20-time grand slam champion, Federer announced in a social media post on Wednesday that next week will be his last as a professional tennis player. Federer’s management firm, Team8, are founders of the Laver Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event: “The Laver Cup next week in London 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,” wrote the 41-year-old.
The past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries. I’ve worked hard to return to full competitive form,” wrote Federer. “But I also know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear. 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.”
Federer has compiled one of the all-time great tennis careers and for a large period he held the men’s record for total grand slam titles, outpacing his idol, Pete Sampras, the previous record holder whose count of 14 was once considered to be almost untouchable.
Throughout his career he unlocked other records that stand as a marker of his consistency and excellence, such as reaching 23 consecutive grand slam semi-finals and 36 consecutive quarter-finals. Federer has also won 103 ATP singles titles, 28 ATP Masters titles and six ATP Finals. Of his 1526 matches on the ATP tour, he compiled a 1251-275 (82%) career singles record.
In 2003, Federer won his first grand slam title aged 21 at Wimbledon and within 14 months he had established his dominance. Between 2004 and 2007, when Federer stood at the height of his powers, he compiled a 247-15 (94%) record and methodically redefined what greatness in the men’s game looked like.
As Federer pushed the sport to unimaginable heights, the standard he set inspired notable challengers to follow, with Rafael Nadal, now 36 years old, and then later Novak Djokovic, 35, eventually rising to form the big three, arguably the greatest era of men’s tennis the sport has seen.
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