The 20-time Grand Slam champion confirmed he’s solely going to play in an exhibition match and has no plans to return.
Printed On 25 Aug 2026
Roger Federer is definitely nervous about his tennis.
The person who gained 5 straight US Open championships in the course of the top of his dominance of the game is about to play once more in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night time for the primary time since 2019. And he’s not fairly certain how the sport that maybe no one ever made look extra elegant will seem now.
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“I haven’t performed a singles set in, I don’t know, [Hubert] Hurkacz at Wimbledon possibly, so it’s been 5 years,” Federer stated on Monday, referring to his 2021 quarterfinal loss in his final Grand Slam match.
“I don’t know the way it’s going to go tomorrow. So there may be lots of uncertainty however lots of happiness that I can return to Arthur Ashe, a spot the place I’ve had so many lovely moments.”
It’s just one set of singles in an exhibition in opposition to Andy Roddick and one set of doubles with John McEnroe in opposition to Roddick and Andre Agassi. The winner of 20 Grand Slam singles titles ought to be positive for these.
However a return to tennis past that, competing in main tennis tournaments in his mid-40s like Venus and Serena Williams?
“No, no, no, no. No, by no means,” Federer stated throughout a information convention.
“Thanks for asking. I wasn’t certain if the query was going to get requested, however I’m glad you probably did so I can make clear in case anyone thought.”
At 45, Federer nonetheless appears to be like match, and stated he enjoys understanding within the health club. However he stated he goes by lengthy stretches the place he’s hardly ever on the courtroom.
His prolonged absence from the US Open has performed little to dampen his reputation, based mostly on the variety of folks across the grounds who have been mentioning his title. The looks of “Roger Federer” up on the massive board for all to see once more, earlier than his afternoon follow on Ashe, the place Federer collected the trophy yearly from 2004-08, was a welcome sight for his followers.
The journey to New York is a cease for Federer on his strategy to Newport, Rhode Island, the place he might be enshrined within the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame on Saturday.
Federer by no means actually had the prospect to say goodbye to New York as a participant, as a result of there was no strategy to know his loss to Grigor Dimitrov within the 2019 quarterfinals could be his final match. He had reached the French Open semifinals and the Wimbledon ultimate earlier that yr, falling to Rafael Nadal in Paris after which Novak Djokovic in a fifth-set tiebreaker on the All England Membership.
‘Knee is drained’
It was simple to think about him returning to the US Open the following yr and making one other deep run. However after falling to Djokovic within the semifinals of the Australian Open to start 2020, he had knee surgical procedure that February, then one other process in Could.
He returned to play within the French Open in 2021 however needed to withdraw earlier than his fourth-round match. After the loss to Hurkacz – the place he appeared to battle and misplaced 6-0 within the third set – Federer had one other knee surgical procedure that August and knew there could be no extra comebacks.
“The knee can’t do it any extra. It’s drained,” he recalled considering. “The thoughts can’t be affected person much more and wait for one more couple years and see what occurs.”
Federer is aware of Tuesday night time gained’t be actual tennis, joking that he and Roddick hopefully could be respectful and never attempt to drop shot one another. However it will likely be completely different from when he did return to Ashe a few years again to look at.
“They gave me an ovation as a result of they noticed me on the massive display screen, however I simply really feel, like, tomorrow and I assume right now, as effectively, and Monday subsequent week, it actually offers me a real alternative to say thanks and goodbye, which I feel is necessary for some,” Federer stated.
“It’s a pleasant factor to do, for certain.”
